On this date:
In 1763, France ceded Canada to England under the Treaty of Paris, which ended the French and Indian War.

In 1840, Britain's Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

In 1846, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Mormons, began an exodus to the west from Illinois.

In 1933, the first singing telegram was introduced by the Postal Telegram Company in New York.

In 1942, the former French liner "Normandie" capsized in New York Harbor a day after it caught fire while being refitted for the U-S Navy.

In 1949, Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman" opened at Broadway's Morosco Theater.

In 1962, the Soviet Union exchanged captured American U-Two pilot Francis Gary Powers for Rudolph Ivanovich Abel, a Soviet spy held by the United States.

In 1981, eight people were killed, 198 injured, when fire broke out at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino.

In 1989, Ron Brown was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first black to head a major US political party.

In 1998, Dr. David Satcher was confirmed by the Senate to be surgeon general.

Ten years ago: South African President F.W. de Klerk announced that black activist Nelson Mandela would be released the next day after 27 years in captivity.

Five years ago: The House passed a GOP crime bill boosting funding for state prisons but requiring states to get tougher on violent criminals before they could receive any money.

One year ago: Resigned to losing their case, House prosecutors said public opinion polls had made a stronger impression on senators than any evidence that President Clinton committed high crimes and misdemeanors. A federal judge ordered American Airlines pilots to end a sickout that had grounded 2500 flights, stranded 200,000 travelers and left businesses scrambling for cargo carriers.

每日格言

"Culture is on the horns of this dilemma: if profound and noble it must remain rare, if common it must become mean."

-- George Santayana, Spanish-born philosopher (1863-1952).