Today In History

In 1492: The leader of the last Arab stronghold in Spain surrendered to Spanish forces loyal to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I.

In 1788: Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1900: Secretary of State John Hay announced the Open Door Policy in China.

In 1935: Bruno Hauptmann went on trial on charges of kidnapping and murdering the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (Found guilty, Hauptmann was executed.)

In 1942: The Philippines capital of Manila was captured by Japan during World War II.

In 1960: Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 1974: President Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 mph (However, federal speed limits were abolished in 1995).