Today In History

In 1775: The American Revolutionary War began with battles of Lexington and Concord.

In 1892: The prototype of the first commercially successful American automobile was completed in Springfield, Mass., by Charles E. Duryea and his brother Frank.

In 1951: Gen. Douglas MacArthur, relieved of his command by President Truman, bid farewell to Congress, quoting a line from a ballad: “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.”

In 1989: 47 sailors were killed when a gun turret exploded aboard the USS Iowa.

In 1993:The 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ends.