Today in History

From wikipedia.org:

Events
1778 - American Revolutionary War: In Paris the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce are signed by the United States and France signaling official recognition of the new republic
1788 - Massachusetts becomes the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution
1815 - New Jersey grants the first American railroad charter to a John Stevens
1819 - Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founds Singapore
1820 - The first 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society established a settlement in present-day Liberia
1843 - The first minstrel show in the United States The Virginia Minstrels opens (Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City)
1862 - American Civil War: Ulysses S. Grant gives the United States its first victory of the war, by capturing Fort Henry, Tennessee

Births
1564 - Christopher Marlowe, playwright (d. 1593)
1895 - Babe Ruth, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1948)
1911 - Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States (d. 2004)
1913 - Mary Leakey, anthropologist (d. 1996)
1914 - Thurl Ravenscroft, voice-over actor (“Tony the Tiger”)
1922 - Patrick Macnee, actor
1945 - Bob Marley, Jamaican roots rock reggae singer and musician, (d. 1981)
1950 - Natalie Cole, singer

Deaths
1617 - Prospero Alpini, Italian scientist (b. 1553)
1685 - King Charles II of England (b. 1630)
1740 - Pope Clement XII (b. 1652)
1952 - King George VI of the United Kingdom (b. 1895)
1989 - Chris Gueffroy, last person killed escaping over the GDR border
1991 - Danny Thomas, singer, comedia, actor (b. 1914)
1993 - Arthur Ashe, tennis star (b. 1943)

Holidays & observances
Feast day of Saint Paul Miki and companions