Today:
1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II signs a ten-year truce with Al-Kamil, the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, gaining control of Jerusalem without military conflict.
1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, brother of King Edward IV of England, is executed for treason, allegedly by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine.
1685 – French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle establishes Fort St. Louis in present-day Texas, strengthening France’s claims in North America.
1861 – Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the first and only president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama.
1885 – Mark Twain publishes “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in the United States, widely considered one of the greatest American novels.
1929 – The first Academy Awards (Oscars) ceremony is announced, though the actual event takes place in May.
1930 – Pluto is discovered by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.
1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California.
1977 – The space shuttle Enterprise makes its first test flight, riding on top of a Boeing 747.
2001 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union and Russia over a span of 22 years, one of the most damaging espionage cases in U.S. history.