Today in History

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase distressed assets of financial corporations and supply cash directly to banks to keep them afloat.

Former pro football star and actor O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, ending what many called “the Trial of the Century.”.

Battle of Mogadishu, in which 18 US soldiers and some 1,000 Somalis are killed during an attempt to capture officials of the warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid’s organization.

After 40 years of division, East and West Germany are reunited as one nation.

Art Shell becomes the first African American to coach a professional football team, the Los Angeles Raiders.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis makes its maiden flight.

A violent coup in Honduras ends a period of political reform and ushers in two decades of military rule.

Two children’s television programs and a family sitcom all destined to become classics debut: Captain Kangaroo, Mickey Mouse Club, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Al Sharpton, African-American minister, civil rights activist, TV and radio talk show host; unsuccessful candidate for Democratic nomination for the US presidency in 2004.

The UK successfully conducts a nuclear weapon, becoming the world’s third nuclear power

A “shot is heard around the world” when New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson hits a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League pennant.

German troops evacuate Athens, Greece.

Germany conducts the first successful test flight of a V-2 missile, which flies perfectly over a 118-mile course.

Chubby Checker (Ernest Evans), singer, songwriter who popularized the dance The Twist; Billboard magazine ranked “The Twist” as the most popular single in its Hot 100 since the list’s debut in 1958.