TODAY IN HISTORY
In 1520, Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant parts of his 95 Theses, or face excommunication.
In 1898, a treaty was signed in Paris officially ending the Spanish-American War.
In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to mediate an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
In 1931, Jane Addams became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; the co-recipient was Nicholas Murray Butler.
In 1950, Ralph J. Bunche was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first black American to receive the award.
In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. received his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, saying he accepted it “with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind.”
In 1967, singer Otis Redding, 26, and six others were killed when their plane crashed into Wisconsin’s Lake Monona; one passenger, Ben Cauley, survived.
In 1972, baseball’s American League adopted the designated hitter rule on an experimental basis for three years.
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev concluded three days of summit talks in Washington.
In 1994, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin received the Nobel Peace Prize, pledging to pursue their mission of healing the anguished Middle East.
In 1996, South African President Nelson Mandela signed the country’s new constitution into law during a ceremony in Sharpeville.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:
Actor Tommy Kirk is 76.
Actress Fionnula Flanagan is 76.
Pop singer Chad Stuart (Chad and Jeremy) is 76.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Ralph Tavares is 76
Actress-singer Gloria Loring is 71.
Pop-funk musician Walter “Clyde” Orange (The Commodores) is 71.
Country singer Johnny Rodriguez is 66.
Actress Susan Dey is 65.
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is 61.
Actor John York (TV: “General Hospital”) is 59.
TV chef Bobby Flay is 53.
Rock singer-musician J Mascis is 52.
Actress-comedian Arden Myrin is 44.
Rock musician Meg White (The White Stripes) is 43.
Actress Emmanuelle Chriqui is 42.
Rapper Kuniva (D12) is 42.
Actor Gavin Houston is 40.
Actor Alano Miller is 38.
Violinist Sarah Chang is 37.
Actor Patrick John Flueger is 34.
Country singer Meghan Linsey is 32.
Actress Raven-Symone is 32.
Thought for Today: “Originality and a feeling of one’s own dignity are achieved only through work and struggle.” — Feodor Dostoyevsky, Russian author (1821-1881).
