TODAY IN HISTORY

1618

German astronomer Johannes Kepler devised his third law of planetary motion.

1817

The New York Stock & Exchange Board, which had its beginnings in 1792, was formally organized; it later became known as the New York Stock Exchange.

1948

The Supreme Court, in McCollum v. Board of Education, struck down voluntary religious education classes in Champaign, Ill., public schools, saying the program violated separation of church and state.

1965

The United States landed its first combat troops in South Vietnam as 3,500Marines arrived to defend the U.S. air base at Da Nang.

1971

Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali by decision in what was billed as “The Fight of the Century” at Madison Square Garden in New York. Silent film comedian Harold Lloyd died in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 77.

1983

In a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals convention in Orlando, Fla, President Ronald Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire.”