Today in History

1581 Francis Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth I aboard Golden Hind at Deptford
1655 Battle at Postage Farina, Tunis: English fleet beats Barbary pirates
1789 1st US Congress begins regular sessions during George Washington’s presidency at Federal Hall, NYC (ending 1791)
1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty signed in Washington, D.C.
1968 US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee
1973 World Trade Center, then the world’s tallest building, opens in New York (110 stories). Later destroyed in 9/11 terrorist attacks.
1975 Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800

Today in Music

1971 Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies” opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 524 performances, then most expensive broadway musical

Today in Sports

1974 Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth’s home-run record by hitting his 714th