Today In History

In 1801: John Marshall was appointed chief justice of the Unived States.

In 1841: The island of Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain. (It returned to Chinese control in July 1997.)

In 1887: The U.S. Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base.

In 1942: Nazi officials held the notorious Wannsee conference, during which they arrived at their “final solution” that called for exterminating Europe’s Jews.

In 1981: Iran released 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days, minutes after the presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan.

In 1986: The United States observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1987: Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite disappeared in Beirut, Lebanon, while attempting to negotiate the release of Western hostages. (He was freed in November 1991.)

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