| On this date in: |
| 1520 |
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name. |
| 1895 |
The first automobile race took place, between Chicago and Waukegan, Ill. |
| 1905 |
Sinn Fein was founded in Dublin. |
| 1925 |
The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville made its debut on radio station WSM. |
| 1942 |
Fire destroyed the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston, killing nearly 500 people. |
| 1943 |
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin met in Tehran during World War II. |
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| AP Photo |
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| 1958 |
The African nation of Chad became an autonomous republic within the French community. |
| 1975 |
President Gerald R. Ford nominated federal Judge John Paul Stevens to the U.S. Supreme Court seat vacated by William O. Douglas. |
| 1995 |
President Bill Clinton signed a bill that ended the federal 55 mph speed limit. |
| 2001 |
Enron Corp., once the world’s largest energy trader, collapsed after would-be rescuer Dynegy Inc. backed out of an $8.4 billion deal to take it over. |
| 2011 |
Egyptians voted in the first parliamentary elections since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak; Islamist parties were the big winners. |
