Today in 1926, 97 years ago: Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.

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Today in 1916, 107 years ago: World War I: Battle of Romani: Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula.

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Today in 2003, 20 years ago: A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.

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Today in 2010, 13 years ago: The Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately 2,300 ft (700 m) below the ground for 69 days.

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Today in 1939, 84 years ago: in Spain, the Franco dictatorship shot 63 members of the Unified Socialist Youth.

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Today in 1772, 251 years ago: the Treaty of St. Petersburg is established, an agreement between Austria, Prussia and Russia to divide Poland, which will lead to the first occupation of Warsaw by the Russians.

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Today in 1949, 74 years ago: In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.

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Today in 1862, 161 years ago: American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge: Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats.

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Today in 1980, 43 years ago: in the port of Seville, six people die when the hold of a freezer ship explodes.

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Today in 1957, 66 years ago: Spanish tennis players win the Galea Cup.

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Today in 1932, 91 years ago: in the United States, the AFL union estimates that the number of unemployed reaches 11.6 million.

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Today in 1923, 100 years ago: the Spanish Rowing Championships were inaugurated.

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Today in 1979, 44 years ago: In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake the Bala Hissar uprising against the Leninist government.

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Today in 1920, 103 years ago: the Reichstag passes the law on disarmament.

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Today in 2020, 3 years ago: Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the 'Bhoomi Pujan' or land worship ceremony and lays the foundation stone of Rama Mandir in Ayodhya after a Supreme Court verdict ruling in favour of building the temple on disputed land.

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Today in 1952, 71 years ago: General Odría constitutes a new Government in Peru.

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Today in 1944, 79 years ago: World War II: At least 1,104 Japanese POWs in Australia attempt to escape from a camp at Cowra, New South Wales; 545 temporarily succeed but are later either killed, commit suicide, or are recaptured.

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Today in 1933, 90 years ago: Poland and the Free City of Danzig sign an agreement on the use of the city's port.

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Today in 1919, 104 years ago: Turkish General Mustafa Kemal revolts, along with his supporters of the Erzurum nationalist congress, against the government of Damad Ferid.

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Today in 1986, 37 years ago: the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, meeting in London, approve a package of timid measures against South Africa for apartheid.

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