Today in History

Military contractors in the employ of Blackwater Worldwide allegedly kill 17 Iraqis in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, further straining relations between the US and the people of Iraq.

Britain’s government lifts the 1988 broadcasting ban against member of Ireland’s Sinn Fein and Irish paramilitary groups.

The trial of Manuel Noriega, deposed dictator of Panama, begins in the United States.

An earthquake estimated to be as strong as 7.9 on the Richter scale kills 25,000 people in Iran.

Administrators for Rhodes Scholarships announce the decision to begin offering fellowships to women.

Limited amnesty is offered to Vietnam-era draft resisters who would now swear allegiance to the United States and perform two years of public service.

South Vietnamese troops recapture Quang Tri province in South Vietnam from the North Vietnamese Army.

David Copperfield, magician.

Earl Klugh, jazz guitarist.

Mickey Rourke, actor, screenwriter, professional boxer; won Golden Globe (The Wrestler, 2009).

Henry Louis Gates Jr., critic and scholar.

Rosemary Casals, pro tennis player whose efforts to gain greater equality for women in the sport led to many changes.

Japan surrenders Hong Kong to Britain.

James Alan McPherson, author; first African American to win Pulitzer Prize for fiction (Elbow Room, 1978).