In territorial Kansas’ first election, some 5,000 so-called “Border Ruffians” invade the territory from western Missouri and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature. Although the number of votes cast exceeded the number of eligible voters in the territory, Kansas Governor …read more

1533 – Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

1814 – The allied European nations against Napoleon marched into Paris.

1822 – Florida became a U.S. territory.

1842 – Dr. Crawford W. Long performed the first operation while his patient was anesthetized by ether.

1855 – About 5,000 “Border Ruffians” from western Missouri invaded the territory of Kansas and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature. It was the first election in Kansas.

1858 – Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia patented the pencil.

1867 – The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million dollars.

1870 – The 15th amendment, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race, was passed by the U.S. Congress.

1870 – Texas was readmitted to the Union.

1903 – Revolutionary activity in the Dominican Republic brought U.S. troops to Santo Domingo to protect American interests.

1905 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was chosen to mediate in the Russo-Japanese peace talks.

1909 – The Queensboro bridge in New York opened linking Manhattan and Queens. It was the first double decker bridge.

1909 – In Oklahoma, Seminole Indians revolted against meager pay for government jobs.

1916 – Pancho Villa killed 172 at the Guerrero garrison in Mexico.

1936 – Britain announced a naval construction program of 38 warships.

1939 – The comic book “Detective Comics #27” appeared on newstands. This comic introduced Batman.

1940 – The Japanese set up a puppet government called Manchuko in Nanking, China.

1941 – The German Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel began its first offensive against British forces in Libya.

1944 – The U.S. fleet attacked Palau, near the Philippines.

1945 – The U.S.S.R. invaded Austria during World War II.

1946 – The Allies seized 1,000 Nazis attempting to revive the Nazi party in Frankfurt.

1947 – Lord Mountbatten arrived in India as the new Viceroy.

1950 – The invention of the phototransistor was announced.

1950 – U.S. President Truman denounced Senator Joe McCarthy as a saboteur of U.S. foreign policy.

1957 – Tunisia and Morocco signed a friendship treaty in Rabat.

1958 – The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gave its initial performance.

1964 – “Jeopardy” debuted on NBC-TV.

1964 – John Glenn withdrew from the Ohio race for U.S. Senate because of injuries suffered in a fall.

1970 – “Applause” opened on Broadway.

1970 – “Another World – Somerset” debuted on NBC-TV.

1972 – The British government assumed direct rule over Northern Ireland.

1972 – The Eastertide Offensive began when North Vietnamese troops crossed into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the northern portion of South Vietnam.

1975 – As the North Vietnamese forces moved toward Saigon South Vietnamese soldiers mob rescue jets in desperation.

1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in Washington, DC, by John W. Hinckley Jr. Two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady were also wounded.

1982 – The space shuttle Columbia completed its third and its longest test flight after 8 days in space.

1984 – The U.S. ended its participation in the multinational peace force in Lebanon.

1987 – Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” was bought for $39.85 million.

1993 – In Sarajevo, two Serb militiamen were sentenced to death for war crimes committed in Bosnia.

1993 – In the Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown hit his first home run.

1994 – Serbs and Croats signed a cease-fire to end their war in Croatia while Bosnian Muslims and Serbs continued to fight each other.

1998 – Rolls-Royce was purchased by BMW in a $570 million deal.

2002 – An unmanned U.S. spy plan crashed at sea in the Southern Philippines.

2002 – Suspected Islamic militants set off several grenades at a temple in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Four civilians, four policemen and two attackers were killed and 20 people were injured.

2009 – The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the new World Trade Center building would be officially known by its legal name of “One World Trade Center.”

1951 American citizens Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted and sentenced to death for conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union

Biography: Ethel Rosenberg was an American citizen who, along with her husband Julius Rosenberg, became a central figure in a Cold War espionage trial. The Rosenbergs were accused of passing atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union and were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.

Born in New York City to immigrant parents, Ethel became involved in labor and political movements, including the Communist Party. She married Julius Rosenberg in 1939, and they were both arrested in the early 1950s, during the height of McCarthyism. Their trial in 1951 became a global sensation and has remained a subject of controversy.

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair on June 19, 1953, at Sing Sing Prison in New York. They were the first American civilians to be executed for espionage during peacetime.

Source: onthisday.com