Today in 2005, 18 years ago: In Iran, the government executes two teenagers, aged 16 and 18, for homosexuality.
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Today in 1989, 34 years ago: in the vicinity of the Atocha Station in Madrid (Spain), a commando of the terrorist band ETA murders two heads of the Intendancy Corps of the Army.
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Today in 1963, 60 years ago: in the United States, Joseph Albert Walker flies a North American X-15 aircraft at a record altitude of 106 km.
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Today in 1702, 321 years ago: Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow.
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Today in 1943, 80 years ago: World War II: Rome is heavily bombed by more than 500 Allied aircraft, inflicting thousands of casualties.
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Today in 1964, 59 years ago: Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.
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Today in 1985, 38 years ago: in Italy, the rupture of the dam of the Val di Stava dam, Trento, in the north of the country, causes more than 260 deaths and disappearances.
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Today in 1967, 56 years ago: Piedmont Airlines Flight 22, a Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727-22 and a twin-engine Cessna 310 collided over Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA. Both aircraft were destroyed and all passengers and crew were killed, including John T. McNaughton, an advisor to Robert McNamara.
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Today in 1974, 49 years ago: in Spain, the dictator Francisco Franco is hospitalized, and temporarily delegates the powers to Prince Juan Carlos.
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Today in 1909, 114 years ago: in the English Channel, between (France and the United Kingdom), the pilot Hubert Latham fails in the first attempt to cross by airplane.
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Today in 1934, 89 years ago: The rigid airship USS Macon surprised the USS Houston near Clipperton Island with a mail delivery for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, demonstrating its potential for tracking ships at sea.
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Today in 1977, 46 years ago: The world's first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 12:41 a.m. Eastern time (ET).
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Today in 1870, 153 years ago: Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia.
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Today in 1997, 26 years ago: The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army resumes a ceasefire to end their 25-year paramilitary campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland.
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Today in 1903, 120 years ago: in France, the first Tour de France concludes at the Parc des Princes (Paris) with the victory of cyclist Maurice Garin.
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Today in 1954, 69 years ago: in the United States, Elvis Presley achieved an extraordinary sales success with the song That's all right, mama.
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Today in 1972, 51 years ago: Dhofar Rebellion: British SAS units help the Omani government against Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman rebels in the Battle of Mirbat.
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Today in 1875, 148 years ago: in Milan (Italy) the opera La falce by Alfredo Catalani is premiered.
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Today in 1940, 83 years ago: at the Kroll Opera House in Berlin (Nazi Germany) - within the framework of World War II - Adolf Hitler promoted twelve generals to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal). It was the first time in World War II that Hitler appointed field marshals because of his military achievements and the only time he did so in a formal ceremony.
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Today in 1979, 44 years ago: The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.
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