Today In History

In 1786: Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro” premiered in Vienna.

In 1898: Commodore George Dewey gave the command, “You may fire when you are ready, Gridley,” as an American naval force destroyed a Spanish fleet in Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.

In 1960: The Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane near Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

In 1971: Amtrak, which combined and streamlined operations of 18 intercity passenger railroads, went into service.