April 6
Today's:

1199 - English King Richard I was killed by an arrow at the siege of the castle of Chaluz in France.

1789 - The first U.S. Congress began regular sessions at the Federal Hall in New York City.

1814 - Granted sovereignty in the island of Elba and a pension from the French government, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates at Fountainebleau. He was allowed to keep the title of emperor.

1830 - Joseph Smith and five others organized the Mormon Church in Seneca, NY.

1830 - Relations between the Texans and Mexico reached a new low when Mexico would not allow further emigration into Texas by settlers from the U.S.

1862 - The American Civil War Battle of Shiloh began in Tennessee.

1865 - At the Battle of Sayler's Creek, a third of Lee's army was cut off by Union troops pursuing him to Appomattox.

1875 - Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for the multiple telegraph, which sent two signals at the same time.

1896 - The first modern Olympic Games began in Athens, Greece.

1903 - French Army Nationalists were revealed for forging documents to guarantee a conviction for Alfred Dryfus.

1909 - Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson claimed to be the first men to reach the North Pole.

1916 - Charlie Chaplin became the highest-paid film star in the world when he signed a contract with Mutual Film Corporation for $675,000 a year. He was 26 years old.

1917 - The U.S. Congress approved a declaration of war on Germany and entered World War I on the Allied side.

1924 - Four planes left Seattle on the first successful flight around the world.

1927 - William P. MacCracken, Jr. earned license number ‘1’ when the Department of Commerce issued the first aviator’s license.

1931 - "Little Orphan Annie" debuted on the NBC Blue network.

1938 - The United States recognized the German conquest of Austria.

1941 - German forces invaded Greece and Yugoslavia.

1945 - "This is Your FBI" debuted on ABC radio.

1953 - Iranian Premier Mossadegh demanded that the shah's power be reduced.

1957 - Trolley cars in New York City completed their final runs.

1959 - Hal Holbrook opened in the off-Broadway presentation of "Mark Twain Tonight."

1965 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the use of ground troops in combat operations in Vietnam.

1967 - In South Vietnam, 1,500 Viet Cong attacked Quangtri and freed 200 prisoners.

1981 - A Yugoslav Communist Party official confirmed reports of intense ethnic riots in Kosovo.

1983 - The U.S. Veteran's Administration announced it would give free medical care for conditions traceable to radiation exposure to more than 220,000 veterans who participated in nuclear tests from 1945 to 1962.

1985 - William J. Schroeder became the first artificial heart recipient to be discharged from the hospital.

1987 - Dennis Levine began a two-year jail term for insider trading.

1987 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,400 for the first time.

1987 - Sugar Ray Leonard took the middleweight title from Marvin Hagler.

1988 - Mathew Henson was awarded honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Henson had discovered the North Pole with Robert Peary.

1997 - Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) announced that he would retire from the National Hockey League (NHL) following the playoffs of the current season.

1998 - Citicorp and Travelers Group announced that they would be merging. The new creation was the largest financial-services conglomerate in the world. The name would become Citigroup.

1998 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 9,000 points for the first time.

1998 - Federal researchers in the U.S. announced that daily tamoxifen pills could cut breast cancer risk among high-risk women.

1998 - Pakistan successfully tested medium-range missiles capable of attacking neighboring India.

1999 - Carmen Electra filed for a divorce from Dennis Rodman. They had only been married six months.

Today's: