Today in 1693, champagne was invented by Dom Perignon.
Today in 1790, the United States Revenue Cutter Service was established to serve as an armed customs enforcement service (becoming the US Coast Guard in 1915).
Today in 1914, the US declared neutrality on the outbreak of WWI.
Today in 1922, every telephone in the U.S. and Canada went dead as AT&T and the Bell System shut down all its switchboards and switching stations for one minute in memory of Alexander Graham Bell, who had died two days earlier.
Today in 1934, Mel Ott became the first major-league baseball player to score six runs in a single game.
Today in 1944, fourteen-year-old Anne Frank was among eight people arrested by the Nazis in the secret annex of a house in Amsterdam during World War Two. The personal diary she had kept during her family's two years of hiding was popularized in books and movies after her death.
Today in 1977, President Carter established the Department of Energy.
Today in 1983, New York Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield threw a baseball during warm up practice in Toronto and accidentally killed a seagull. After the game, police surrounded the slugger and arrested him for "causing unnecessary suffering to an animal."
Today in 1993, Los Angeles police officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell, were sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for violating Rodney King's civil rights.
Today in 1995, the movie, "Babe," was released in theaters nationwide.
Today in 1996, Jim Bunning, Earl Weaver, Bill Foster, and Ned Hanlon were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Today in 1997, the world's oldest person (at that time), Jeanne Calment, died at the age of 122-years and 164-days in Arles, France. For the current list of the oldest people, CLICK HERE.
Today in 2007, NASA's Phoenix spacecraft was launched on a space exploration mission of Mars. The Phoenix lander descended on Mars on May 25th, 2008.
Today in 2009, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardoned two American journalists - Laura Ling and Euna Lee - who had been arrested and imprisoned for illegal entry earlier in the year.
Today in 2010, California's Proposition 8, the ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriage passed by the state's voters in 2008, was overturned by Judge Vaughn Walker.
Today in 2011, NASA announced that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter had captured photographic evidence that there may be liquid water on Mars in warmer months.
Today in 2015, Robert Downey Jr. was named the world's highest paid actor by Forbes Magazine (earning $80-mil). In a serious showstopper – four non-Hollywood actors also made the top 10.