TODAY IN HISTORY

1859

The Big Ben clock tower in London went into operation, chiming for the first time.

1889

Some 2,200 people in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, perished when the South Fork Dam collapsed, sending 20 million tons of water rushing through the town.

1962

Former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel a few minutes before midnight for his role in the Holocaust.

1977

The Trans-Alaska oil pipeline, three years in the making despite objections from environmentalists and Alaska Natives, was completed.