Today In History

In 1942: The World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. The Americans eventually won a major victory over the Japanese.

In 1927: Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

In 1954: Ellis Island closed after processing more than 20 million immigrants since opening in New York Harbor in 1892.

In 1982: Yuri V. Andropov was elected to succeed the late Leonid I. Brezhnev as general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party’s Central Committee.

In 1990: Japanese Emperor Akihito formally assumed the Chrysanthemum Throne.