Today in History

The euro, the new money of 11 European nations, goes into effect on the continent of Europe.

As the United States builds its strength in the Mediterranean, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi threatens to retaliate if attacked.

Fidel Castro seizes power in Cuba as General Fulgencio Batista flees.

In Operation Bodenplatte, German planes attack American forward air bases in Europe. This is the last major offensive of the Luftwaffe.

At a party at the Hormel Mansion in Minnesota, a guest wins $100 for naming a new canned meat–Spam.

Sadi Lecointe sets a new aviation speed record flying an average of 208 mph at Istres.

J.D. [Jerome David] Salinger, U.S. novelist (The Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey).

The first gasoline pipeline begins operation. Along the 40 miles and three inches of pipe from Salt Creek to Casper, Wyoming.

The German submarine U-24 sinks the British battleship Formidable in the English Channel.

The Pure Food and Drug Act becomes law in the United States.

J. Edgar Hoover, founding director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

Facilities opened on Ellis Island, New York, to cope with the vast flood of immigrants coming into the United States.

E.M. [Edward Morgan] Forster, English novelist (A Passage to India, A Room With a View).

President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the Confederacy.

William Lloyd Garrison publishes the first edition of a journal entitled The Liberator, calling for the complete and immediate emancipation of all slaves in the United States.

The Camp Street Theatre opens as the first English-language playhouse in New Orleans.

A U.S. law banning the import of slaves comes into effect, but is widely ignored.

The Times, London’s oldest running newspaper, publishes its first edition.

The Old Pretender, son of James III, dies.

Betsy Ross, flag maker.

Paul Revere, U.S. patriot.

The Abenaki Indians and Massachusetts colonists sign a treaty halting hostilities between the two.

Sir Francis Drake launches a surprise attack on the heavily fortified city of Santo Domingo in Hispanola.

The Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral reaches the coast of Brazil and claims the region for Portugal.