Today in HIstory

845		Led by Ragnar Lodbrok, Viking raiders sack Paris. In exchange for leaving, the Vikings collect a large ransom from the Frankish defenders.
1461		The armies of two kings, Henry VI and Edward IV, collide at Towton.
1638		A permanent European colony is established in present-day Delaware.
1827		Composer Ludwig van Beethoven is buried in Vienna amidst a crowd of over 10,000 mourners.
1847		U.S. troops under General Winfield Scott take possession of the Mexican stronghold at Vera Cruz.
1867		The United States purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million dollars.
1879		British troops of the 90th Light Infantry Regiment repulse a major attack by Zulu tribesmen in northwest Zululand.
1886		Coca-Cola goes on sale for the first time at a drugstore in Atlanta. Its inventor, Dr. John Pemberton, claims it can cure anything from hysteria to the common cold.
1903		A regular news service begins between New York and London on Marconi’s wireless.
1913		The German government announces a raise in taxes in order to finance the new military budget.
1916		The Italians call off the fifth attack on Isonzo.
1936		Italy firebombs the Ethiopian city of Harar.
1941		The British sink five Italian warships off the Peloponnesus coast in the Mediterranean.
1951		The Chinese reject Gen. Douglas MacArthur‘s offer for a truce in Korea.
1951		Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical The King and I opens on Broadway starring Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner.
1952		President Harry Truman removes himself from the presidential race.
1961		The 23rd amendment, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for president, is ratified.
1962		Cuba opens the trial of the Bay of Pigs invaders.
1966		Leonid Brezhenev becomes First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. He denounces the American policy in Vietnam and calls it one of aggression.
1967		France launches its first nuclear submarine.
1971		Lt. William L. Calley Jr. is found guilty for his actions in the My Lai massacre.
1973		The last U.S. troops withdraw from South Vietnam.
1975		Egyptian president Anwar Sadat declares that he will reopen the Suez Canal on June 5, 1975.
1976		Eight Ohio National Guardsmen are indicted for shooting four Kent State students during an anti-war protest on May 4, 1970.
1986		A court in Rome acquits six men in a plot to kill the Pope.