Today in History

From wikipedia.org:

Events
1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Saleph River while leading an army to Jerusalem
1692 - Salem witch trials: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts for “certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft & Sorceries”
1793 - The Jardin des Plantes museum opens in Paris (becoming, a year later, the first public zoo)
1829 - First Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge
1846 - Mexican-American War: The California Republic declares independence from Mexico
1854 - The first class of United States Naval Academy students graduate
1886 - Eruption of Mount Tarawera in New Zealand, killing 153 people and destroying the famous Pink and White Terraces
1935 - Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio by William G. Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith
1947 - Saab produces its first automobile
1956 - 1956 Summer Olympics: Equestrian events open in Stockholm, Sweden
1967 - Six-Day War ends: Israel and Syria agree to a cease-fire
1977 - Apple Computer ships its first Apple II personal computer
1991 - In what was dubbed “The Mother of All Parades”, New York City hosts a parade welcoming back troops from Operation Desert Storm

Births
1688 - James Francis Edward Stuart, “The Old Pretender” (d. 1766)
1895 - Hattie McDaniel, actress, and the first African American to win an Academy Award (d. 1952)
1897 - Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia (d. 1918)
1901 - Frederick Loewe, Austrian-born American composer (d. 1988)
1922 - Judy Garland, American actress, singer (d. 1969)
1928 - Maurice Sendak, writer, producer, illustrator
1949 - Ronald James Padavona, (a.k.a. Ronnie James Dio) Heavy metal singer
1951 - Dan Fouts, American football star

Deaths
323 BC - Alexander the Great (b. 356 BC)
1190 - Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor (drowned) (b. 1122)
1654 - Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (b. 1598)
1692 - Bridget Bishop, accused witch
1836 - André-Marie Ampère, French physicist (b. 1775)
1902 - Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan poet (b. 1845)
1909 - Edward Everett Hale, author
1926 - Antoni Gaudí, Catalan architect (b. 1852)
1949 - Sigrid Undset, Norwegian author, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature (b. 1882)