Today In History...
In 1649 England's King Charles I is beheaded by Parliament.
In 1798 A brawl breaks out in the House of Representatives as Matthew Lyon of Vermont spit in the face of Roger Griswold of Connecticut.
In 1847 The California town of Yerba Buena is renamed San Francisco.
In 1862 "Monitor," the U.S. Navy's first ironclad warship, is launched.
In 1933 Adolf Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany.
In 1933 "The Lone Ranger" radio program debuts on WXYZ in Detroit.
In 1948 Indian political leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, who lead his country to independence from British rule through his philosophy of non-violent confrontation, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist.
In 1958 The first 2-way moving sidewalk goes into service in Dallas, Texas.
In 1962 Two members of the Flying Wallendas high-wire act are killed when their 7-person pyramid collapses during a performance in Detroit.
In 1964 The U.S. launches Mariner VI, an unmanned spacecraft carrying TV cameras that was to crash-land on the moon.
In 1968 Communist forces launch surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals in what became known as the "Tet Offensive," named for the Lunar New Year.
In 1972 13 Roman Catholic civil rights marchers are shot to death byBritish soldiers in Northern Ireland on what became known as Bloody Sunday.
In 1979 The civilian government of Iran announces the return of Ayatollah Khomeini from exile in France.
In 1981 New York City throws a full blown ticker tape parade to welcome home America's 52 hostages from Iran.
In 1983 The Washington Redskins win their first Super Bowl, defeating the Miami Dolphins, 27-17, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
In 1984 Two U.S. Marines are killed in a skirmish with Shiite Muslim militiamen at the Beirut airport in Lebanon.
In 1985 UN Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick tells President Reagan she would leave her diplomatic post.
In 1986 NASA expands its search for wreckage from the space shuttle Challenger, sending six Navy ships to search the Atlantic Ocean for debris.
In 1987 Calling it a "budget-buster," President Ronald Reagan vetoes a measure renewing the Clean Water Act that was expected to cost up to $20 billion through 1994.
In 1989 Former criminal lawyer Joel Steinberg is convicted in New York of first-degree manslaughter in the death of his illegally adopted 6-year-old daughter, Lisa.
In 1990 A federal judge orders former President Reagan to provide excerpts of his personal diaries for the upcoming Iran-contra trial.
In 1991 The first major ground battle of the Gulf War is fought at the frontier port of Khafji in Saudi Arabia. 11 U.S. Marines were killed, seven of them by "friendly fire."
In 1992 Irish Prime Minister Charles Haughey announces his resignation.
In 1992 President George Bush and other world leaders gather for an unprecedented UN Security Council summit to coordinate policy on peacekeeping, disarmament and quelling aggression.
In 1993 Los Angeles inaugurates its Metro Red Line, the city's first modern subway.
In 1994 The Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills, 30-13, in Super Bowl XXVIII, repeating as NFL champions.
In 1995 At least 42 people are killed and 284 wounded when a car bomb explodes in downtown Algiers.
In 1995 The Smithsonian Institution abandons plans for a major exhibit on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, yielding to critics who charged the exhibit would have portrayed America as the aggressor and Japan as the victim in World War II.
In 1996 Ron Wyden wins a close race to become Oregon's first DemocraticU.S. senator in 30 years, replacing Bob Packwood.
In 1997 The Marine Corps opens an investigation of two videotaped hazing incidents in 1991 and 1993 known as "blood pinnings" in which elite paratroopers had golden jump pins beaten into their chests.
In 1999 NATO authorizes its secretary general to launch military action in Yugoslavia if the warring parties failed to negotiate an agreement for autonomy in Kosovo.
In 2000 A Kenya Airways plane crashes shortly after take off from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, killing 169 people.
In 2000 The St. Louis Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV, defeating the Tennessee Titans, 23-16.
In 2002 Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai visits the World Trade Center site and placed a wreath of yellow roses by a memorial wall.
In 2004 Former French Prime Minister Alain Juppe is found guilty in connection with a party financing scandal and declared ineligible for public office for 10 years.