Today In History

In 1776: Virginia’s colonial legislature became the first to adopt a Bill of Rights.

In 1898: Philippine nationalists declared independence from Spain.

In 1939: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, N.Y.

In 1963: Civil rights leader Medgar Evers was fatally shot in front of his home in Jackson, Miss.

In 1967: The Supreme Court struck down state laws prohibiting interracial marriages.

In 1978: David Berkowitz was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for each of the six “Son of Sam” .44-caliber killings that had terrified New Yorkers.

In 1987: President Reagan, during a visit to the divided German city of Berlin, publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”