The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
2013
Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eight-year pontificate.
ALSO ON THIS DATE
1784
John Wesley, the co-founder of Methodism, chartered the first Methodist Church in the United States in Leesburg, Virginia.
1844
A 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded as the ship was sailing on the Potomac River, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others.
1849
The California gold rush began in earnest as regular steamship service started bringing gold-seekers to San Francisco.
1953
Scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick announced they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.
1972
President Richard M. Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued the Shanghai Communique, which called for normalizing relations between their countries, at the conclusion of Nixon’s historic visit to China.
1975
42 people were killed in London’s Underground when a train smashed into the end of a tunnel.
1983
The long-running TV series “M*A*S*H” ended after 11 seasons on CBS with a special 2-hour finale that was watched by an estimated 121.6 million people.
1993
A gun battle erupted at a religious compound near Waco, Texas, when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to arrest Branch Davidian leader David Koresh on weapons charges; four agents and six Davidians were killed as a 51-day standoff began.