TODAY INHISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT 1776

Thomas Paine anonymously published his influential pamphlet, “Common Sense,” which argued for American independence from British rule.

1860

The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts, collapsed and caught fire, killing up to 145people, mostly female workers from Scotland and Ireland.

1861

Florida became the third state to secede fromthe Union.

1863

The London Underground had its beginnings as the Metropolitan, the world’s first underground passenger railway, opened to the public with service between Paddington and Farringdon Street.

1901

The Spindletop oil field in Beaumont, Texas, produced the Lucas Gusher, heralding the start of the Texas oil boom.

1917

Legendary Western frontiersman and showman William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody died at his sister’s home in Denver at age 70.

1920

The League of Nations was established as the Treaty of Versailles went into effect.

1948

Future country music star Loretta Lynn married Oliver “Mooney” Lynn; she was 15 at the time, he was 21.

1984

The United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations for the first time in more than a century.

2002

Marines began flying hundreds of al- Qaida prisoners in Afghanistan to a U. S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

2007

President George W. Bush said he took responsibility for any mistakes in Iraq and announced an increase in U. S. troops there to quell violence. The Democraticcontrolled House voted 315116to increase the federal minimumwage to $ 7.25an hour.