Today:
447: A powerful earthquake heavily damages the Walls of Constantinople.
1429: Henry VI is crowned King of England in London at eight years old.
1860: Abraham Lincoln is elected as the 16th President of the United States.
1861: Jefferson Davis is elected to a six-year term as president of the Confederate States of America.
1869: The first-ever American intercollegiate football game is played, with Rutgers defeating Princeton, 6-4.
1913: Mohandas Gandhi is arrested while leading a march of Indian miners in South Africa.
1917: The Third Battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele, concludes during World War I.
1947: The television program ‘Meet the Press’ premieres on NBC.
1962: The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning South Africa’s apartheid policies.
2012: Tammy Baldwin becomes the first openly gay person elected to the United States Senate.