Today in History

On this day in …

1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne

1781, American forces in the Revolutionary War, backed by a French fleet, began their siege of Yorktown Heights, Va.

1787, Congress voted to send the just-completed Constitution of the United States to state legislatures for their approval
1850, flogging was abolished as a form of punishment in the U.S. Navy

1924, two U.S. Army planes landed in Seattle, Wash., having completed the first round-the-world flight in 175 days

1939, during World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union agreed on a plan to partition Poland

1972, weekly casualty figures for the war are released that contain no U.S. fatalities for the first time since March, 1965

1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, ym"s, signed an accord to transfer much of the West Bank to the control of its Arab residents

1996,


with the United States abstaining, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution indirectly calling on Israel to close an archaeological tunnel in Jerusalem, in land under Israeli sovereignty won in a defensive war. This, because of a terrorist tantrum the "Palestinians" threw -- literally -- after large rocks were bombarded from the Temple Mount at praying Jews and Christians standing before the Western Wall, a few hundred feet below

Landmark legislation to crack down on illegal immigrants in the United States won House passage as part of a giant federal spending bill


2001, the U.N. Security Council approved a sweeping resolution sponsored by the United States requiring all 189 U.N.-member nations to deny money, support and sanctuary to terrorists