1863 – Abraham Lincoln issues his Amnesty Proclamation and plan for Reconstruction of the South
1941 – US and Britain declare war on Japan, US enters World War II
1941 – US President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers “Day of Infamy” speech to US Congress a day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor
1965 – Pope Paul VI signs 2nd Vatican council
1966 – US and USSR sign treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons in outer space
2004 – Cuzco Declaration is signed in Cuzco, Peru, establishing the Union of South American Nations
Historical Events Today
Today in Film & TV
1978 – “The Deer Hunter”, directed by Michael Cimino and starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep, premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Best Picture 1979)
Today in Music
1813 – Ludwig van Beethoven’s 7th Symphony in A, premieres in Vienna with Beethoven conducting
Today in Sport
1978 – Commencement of the 1st day/night World Series Cricket supertest at VFL Park, Melbourne
1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his “Atoms for Peace” speech at the United Nations in New York
1982 – Norman Mayer holds Washington Monument hostage, demanding an end to nuclear weapons. Is killed by police after 10 hrs (he had no explosives)
Famous Weddings
1872 – American religious leader Brigham Young (71) weds his 55th and final wife, American poet Hannah Tapfield (68) in Salt Lake City, Utah
1950 – NBA player Bob Cousy (22) weds his college sweetheart Missie Ritterbusch
1953 – Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker (58) weds second wife Olive Palmer (51) at Park Road Baptist Church in Toronto, Canada
