Today in History

In 1491, England’s King Henry VIII was born at Greenwich.

In 1778, the Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth took place in New Jersey; it was from this battle that the legend of "Molly Pitcher" arose.

In 1836, the fourth president of the United States, James Madison, died in Montpelier, Va.

In 1838, Britain’s Queen Victoria was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serb nationalist – the event which sparked World War I.

In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, ending World War I. In Independence, Mo., future president Harry S. Truman married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace.

In 1928, New York Gov. Alfred E. Smith was nominated for president at the Democratic national convention in Houston.

In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the National Housing Act, which established the Federal Housing Administration.

In 1939, Pan American Airways began regular trans-Atlantic air service with a flight that departed New York for Marseilles, France.

In 1950, North Korean forces captured Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

In 1978, the Supreme Court ordered the University of California-Davis Medical School to admit Allan Bakke, a white man who argued he’d been a victim of reverse racial discrimination.

Ten years ago: Announcing even bigger projected budget surpluses, President Bill Clinton said the government could drastically reduce the national debt while still buttressing Social Security and Medicare.

Five years ago: The U.S.-led coalition transferred sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government two days ahead of schedule. The Supreme Court ruled that the war on terrorism did not give the government a "blank check" to hold a U.S. citizen and foreign-born terrorism suspects in legal limbo. The United States resumed direct diplomatic ties with Libya after a 24-year break.

One year ago: Presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama vied for the support of Hispanics in separate appearances before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference in Washington, with each vowing to remake immigration policy.

Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo combined to no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the Dodgers won 1-0