TODAY IN HISTORY

1825

The first college social fraternity, the Kappa Alpha Society, was formed at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.

1864

English mathematician and writer Charles Dodgson presented a handwritten and illustrated manuscript, “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground,” to his 12-year-old friend Alice Pleasance Liddell; the book was later turned into “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” published under Dodgson’s pen name, Lewis Carroll.

1883

Former slave and abolitionist Sojourner Truth died in Battle Creek, Mich.

1941

U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull delivered a note to Japan’s ambassador to the United States, Kichisaburo Nomura, setting forth U.S. demands for “lasting and extensive peace throughout the Pacific area.” The same day, a Japanese naval task force consisting of six aircraft carriers left the Kuril Islands, headed toward Hawaii.

1950

China entered the Korean War, launching a counteroffensive against soldiers from the United Nations, the U.S. and South Korea.