Today in History

In Buenos Aires, a massive car bomb kills 96 people.

New Zealand and Australia announce they will pull their troops out of Vietnam.

The German Me-262, the first jet-propelled aircraft to fly in combat, makes its first flight.

Hunter S. Thompson, journalist.

General Francisco Franco of Spain revolts against the Republican government, starting the Spanish Civil War.

Ethiopian King Haile Selassie urges his countrymen to fight to the last man against the invading Italian army.

Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet.

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, American blues singer.

John Glenn, Jr., American pilot, astronaut and politician.

Nelson Mandela, civil rights activist, first black president of South Africa.

“”Red” Skelton, American comedian and actor.

Clifford Odets, playwright (Waiting for Lefty).

Jessamyn West, American author (The Friendly Persuasion).

Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian politician and Nazi collaborator during World War II.

Inventor Thomas Edison records the human voice for the first time.

The Ballot Act is passed in Great Britain, providing for secret election ballots.

Union and Confederate troops skirmish at Blackburn’s Ford, Virginia, in a prelude to the Battle of Bull Run.

Uruguay adopts a liberal constitution.

Great Britain signs the Treaty of Orebro, making peace with Russia and Sweden.

William Makepeace Thackeray, English novelist and satirist.

Robespierre, a deputy from Arras, France, decides to back the French Revolution.