Today in 1775, American revolutionaries Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode through Massachusetts, warning that the British were coming.
Today in 1906, the “Great San Francisco earthquake” struck at 5:15am local time. Though it lasted less than a minute, it ruptured gas lines, resulted in three days of fires and claimed thousands of lives.
Today in 1934, the world's first coin-operated Laundromat opened in Fort Worth, Texas.
Today in 1953, possibly the longest measured home run ever hit in a major-league baseball game was credited to New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle. He hit a 565-foot homer in Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC.
Today in 1955, Albert Einstein passed away in Princeton, New Jersey at the age of 76. The day before, he experienced internal bleeding caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which had previously been reinforced surgically in 1948. He had taken the draft of a speech he was preparing for a television appearance commemorating the State of Israel's seventh anniversary with him to the hospital, but he did not live long enough to complete it. When surgery was suggested, Einstein refused, saying: "I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly." He died, having continued to work until near the end.
Today in 1956, Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco in a civil service. The televised church wedding happened the next day.
Today in 1966, Bill Russell was named player-coach of the Boston Celtics, becoming the first African-American coach in the NBA.
Today in 1979, in the outcome of the first-ever palimony lawsuit, actor Lee Marvin was ordered to pay his former girlfriend, Michele Triola Marvin, $104,000.
Today in 1981, Tom Seaver of the Cincinnati Reds became the fifth pitcher in the history of major-league baseball to earn 3,000 strikeouts in a career.
Today in 1983, Pulitzer Prizes went to Alice Walker for her novel, "The Color Purple," and Marsha Norman for her play, "'night, Mother." Walker is the first woman of color to receive a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Today in 1983, 63 people – including 17 Americans – were killed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, by a suicide bomber.
Today in 1983, the Disney Channel was launched.
Today in 1985, Tulane University abolished its 72-year-old basketball program over charges of fixed games, drug abuse, and payments to players.
Today in 1989, student protestors took over Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It spite of the massacre that followed when soldiers retook the square seven weeks later, it was during these protests that the iconic image of a single man standing in front of a tank line was taken.
Today in 1994, former President Nixon suffered a stroke at his home in Park Ridge, New Jersey. He died four days later at a New York hospital.
Today in 1995, quarterback Joe Montana retired from professional football.
Today in 2000, Robert L. Yates, Jr. was arrested in Spokane, Washington, and charged with murdering a teenage prostitute. He later confessed to killing 13 people, and was sentenced to 408 years in prison. It’s believed that he killed a number of other women as well.
Today in 2007, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision.
Today in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the United Nations, saying that respect for human rights, not violence, was the key to solving many of the world’s problems.
Today in 2013, two earth-like planets were discovered orbiting the star Kepler-62.
Today in 2013, the FBI released surveillance camera images of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing and asked for the public’s help in identifying them, hours after President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama attended an interfaith service at a Roman Catholic cathedral.
Today in 2015, the newest class of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees joined the Hall: Lou Reed, Ringo Starr, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Green Day, Bill Withers, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the 5 Royales.
Today in 2017, President Donald Trump signed an order he said should help American workers whose jobs were threatened by skilled immigrants; the signing took place at the headquarters of hand and power tool manufacturer Snap-on Inc., in Kenosha, Wisconsin