| On this date in: |
| 1492 |
The leader of the last Arab stronghold in Spain surrendered to Spanish forces loyal to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I. |
| 1788 |
Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. |
| 1900 |
Secretary of State John Hay announced the Open Door Policy to prompt trade with China. |
| 1935 |
Bruno Hauptmann went on trial in Flemington, N.J., on charges of kidnapping and murdering the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (He was found guilty and executed.) |
| 1965 |
The New York Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath for a reported $400,000. |
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| AP Photo |
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| 1974 |
President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 mph. |
| 1981 |
Police in Sheffield, England, arrested Peter Sutcliffe, who confessed to being the “Yorkshire Ripper,” the serial killer of 13 women. |
| 1991 |
Sharon Pratt Dixon was sworn in as mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first African-American woman to head a city of Washington’s size and prominence. |
| 2006 |
A methane gas explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia trapped 13 miners underground for more than 40 hours; only one survived. |
| 2008 |
Oil prices soared to $100 a barrel for the first time. |
