On This Day In History

1800 Spain ceded Louisiana to France in a secret treaty.

1896 The U.S. Post Office established Rural Free Delivery.

1903 The visiting Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Americans 7-3 in the first World Series game. (The Americans, forerunners of the Red Sox, won the best-of-nine series 5-3.)

1908 Henry Ford introduced the Model T automobile to the market; each car cost $825.

1924 William Rehnquist, the 16th chief justice of the United States, was born in Milwaukee, Wis.

1936 General Francisco Franco was proclaimed the head of an insurgent Spanish state.

1939 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during a radio broadcast described the Soviet Union as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma".

1962 Johnny Carson debuted as regular host of NBC's "Tonight" show.

1964 The Free Speech Movement was launched at the University of California at Berkeley.

1971 Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Fla.

1979 Pope John Paul II began his first trip to the United States.

1989 Thousands of East Germans received a triumphal welcome after the communist government agreed to let them flee to West Germany.

1993 Polly Klaas, 12, was abducted from her Petaluma, Calif., home during a slumber party and murdered. Her case inspired California's three-strikes law.

1994 National Hockey League team owners began a 103-day lockout of their players.

2001 The Supreme Court suspended former President Bill Clinton from practicing before the high court.

2001 A Pakistan-based militant group attacked the state legislature in Indian-ruled Kashmir, killing 38 people.

2006 The Israeli army completed its withdrawal from Lebanon, clearing the way for a U.N. peacekeeping force.

Thanks to the New York Times for all these great facts