T O D A Y I N H I S T O R Y

On this day in …

* 77, Austrasian King Carloman dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne King of the now complete Frankish Kingdom

* 1259, Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agree to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounces his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels

* 1619, 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to the Creator (this is considered by many to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas)

* 1783, at Fraunces Tavern in New York City, US General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell

* 1791, the first issue of The Observer, the world's first Sunday newspaper, is published

* 1864, during the American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea --- At Waynesboro, Georgia, forces under Union General Judson Kilpatrick prevent troops led by Confederate General Joseph Wheeler from interfering with Union General William T. Sherman's campaign destroying a wide swath of the South on his march to the Atlantic Ocean from Atlanta, Georgia. Union forces did suffer more than three times the Confederate casualties, however

* 1875, notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison and flees to Cuba, then Spain

* 1918, President Woodrow Wilson sails for the World War I peace talks in Versailles, becoming the first US president to travel to Europe while in office

* 1943, during World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt closes down the Works Progress Administration, because of the high levels of wartime employment in the United States

* 1945, by a vote of 65 to 7, the United States Senate approves United States participation in the United Nations (the UN was established on October 24 of that year)

* 1952, the Great Smog of 1952: A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution and killing at least 12,000 in the weeks and months that follow

* 1971, the UN Security Council calls an emergency session to consider the deteriorating situation between India and Pakistan

* 1984, practitioners of that "religion of peace" hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane, killing four passengers

* 1991, journalist Terry A. Anderson is released after 7 years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut by practitioners of that "religion of peace". He was the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon.

ALSO: Captain Mark Pyle pilots Clipper Goodwill, a Pan American World Airways Boeing 727-221ADV, to Miami International Airport ending 64 years of Pan Am operations

* 2005, tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong protest for democracy and call on the Government to allow universal and equal suffrage