Today in History

1520 Spanish conquistadors are expelled from Tenochtitlan following an Aztec revolt against their rule under Hernán Cortés during “La Noche Triste” (the Night of Sadness). Many soldiers drown in the escape, and Aztec emperor Montezuma II dies in the struggle
1860 Famous debate on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution held at the Oxford University Museum and dominated by arguments between Thomas Henry Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce
1905 In Russia, the “Potemkin” arrives at Odessa, where sailors take the bodies of dead crewman ashore; sailors join civilians in revolutionary actions of the ‘1905 Revolution’
1908 A giant fireball, most likely caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet flattens 80 million trees near the Stony Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate, Russia, in the largest impact event in recorded history
1934 “Night of Long Knives” – Adolf Hitler stages a bloody purge of the Nazi party
1938 Superman 1st appears in DC Comics’ Action Comics Series issue #1
1992 South African ANC President Nelson Mandela meets with UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali at Dakar

Today in Film & TV

1955 “Johnny Carson Show” debuts on CBS-TV

Today in Music

1992 “End of the Road” single released by Boyz II Men (Grammy Award Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best R&B Song 1993, Billboard Song of the Year 1992)

Today in Sport

2002 FIFA World Cup Final, International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan: Ronaldo scores twice as Brazil beats Germany, 2-0 to win record 5th title; first World Cup held in Asia