Today in History

From wikipedia.org:

Events
1803 - United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase
1973 - The Sydney Opera House opens
1991 - Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments

Births
1632 - Sir Christopher Wren, architect (d. 1723)
1905 - Frederic Dannay (Ellery Queen), mystery novelist (d. 1982)
1935 - Jerry Orbach, actor (Law & Order)