Today In History

In 1776: Col. John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence to a crowd gathered at Independence Square in Philadelphia.

In 1853: An expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Yedo Bay, Japan, on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese.

In 1907: Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first “Follies” on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City.

In 1986: Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as president of Austria despite controversy over his alleged ties to Nazi war crimes.