Today In History

In 1954: Army counsel Joseph N. Welch asked Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” during the Army-McCarthy Hearings.

In 1969: The U.S. Senate confirmed Warren Burger to be the new chief justice of the United States, succeeding Earl Warren.

In 1978: Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints struck down a 148-year-old policy of excluding black men from the Mormon priesthood.

In 1980: Comedian Richard Pryor suffered almost fatal burns at his San Fernando Valley, Calif., home when a mixture of “free-base” cocaine exploded.