Today in 1896, the Dow Jones Industrial Average appeared for the first time in the "Wall Street Journal."
Today in 1927, Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produced the last Model T Ford (aka Tin Lizzie).
Today in 1940, the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World War II.
Today in 1961, the civil rights activist group Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee was established in Atlanta, Georgia.
Today in 1969, the Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth after a successful rehearsal for the first manned moon landing.
Today in 1998, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.
Today in 2002, the Mars Odyssey found signs of large ice deposits on the planet Mars.
Today in 2004, United States Army veteran Terry Nichols was found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing. The jury spent just five hours deliberating before announcing the verdict. He remains incarcerated at ADX Florence, a SuperMax security prison near Florence, Colorado. He shares a cellblock that is commonly referred to as "Bombers Row" with Ramzi Yousef (one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing) and Ted Kaczynski (the “Unabomber”).
Today in 2012, Pope Benedict XVI's butler Paolo Gabriele was charged with allegedly leaking confidential Church documents. He was tried and convicted later that year – sentenced to 18 months, to be served inside the Vatican (as opposed to an Italian Prison). Why the arrangement? Concerns about him leaking more information. Still, it didn’t last long - Gabriele was pardoned by Benedict XVI that December.
Today in 2020, George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, was killed during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, setting off massive protests around the country and generating greater support for the Black Lives Matter movement; police officer Derek Chauvin was later convicted of his murder.