On this date in

1803 The U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.

1818 The United States and the United Kingdrom signed the Treaty of 1818 which, among other things, established the U.S.-Canadian border along the 49th parallel.

1944 General Douglas MacArthur fufilled his promise to return to the Phillipines, commanding an Allied assault on the islands during World War II.

1947 The House Un-American Acitivities began investigating communist infiltration in Hollywood that resulted in a blacklist that prevented many from working in the industry.

1955 "The Return of the King," the third part of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, was published.

1964 Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, died at the age of 90 in New York City.

1968 Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis.

1973 During the Watergate investigation, President Nixon fired Attorney General Eliot Richardson and deputy Attorney Attorney General William Ruckelshaus because they refused to fire Watergate investigator Archibald Cox.

1977 A plane carrying the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed in Mississippi, killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines, the road manager, the pilot and the co-pilot.

1979 The Kennedy Library opened.

Born on this date:
Christopher Wren (1632-1723)
Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891)
John Dewey (1859-1952)
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Bela Lugosi (1882-1956)
Margaret Dumont (1882-1965)
Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941)
James Chadwick (1891-1974)
Rex Ingram (1895-1969)
Wayne Morse (1900-1974)
Anna Neagle (1904-1986)
Arlene Francis (1907-2001)
Grandpa Jones (1913-1998)
Art Buchwald (1925-2007)
Mickey Mantle (1931-1995)
Jerry Orbach (1935-2004)
Lewis Grizzard (1946-1994)