Today in History, 4/15

1450: During the 100 Years War, the French annihilate the English at the Battle of Formigny, ending English domination of Northern France.
1952: Leonardo da Vinci is born.1755: Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published.
1783: Preliminary articles of peace ending the Revolutionary War are ratified.
1865: Abraham Lincoln dies and Andrew Johnson becomes the 17th President of the United States.
1892: The General Electric Company is formed.
1920: Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti murder two security guards while robbing a shoe store.1923: Insulin becomes available for use by diabetics.
1933: Elizabeth Montgomery is born. She played Samantha on Bewitched.

1940: Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.
1940: Robert Walker, Jr is born. He played Charlie X in the classic Star Trek episode. He's the kid with the godlike powers who has the hots for Yeoman Janice Rand.1941: 2000 Luftwaffe bombers attack Belfast, Ireland, killing 1000 people.
1945: The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
1947: Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color line.
1947: Lois Chiles is born. She played Dr. Holly Goodhead in the James Bond movie Moonraker.1959: Emma Thompson is born.1965: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opens. If you're in the area, I highly recommend it.1966: Samantha Fox is born. She was an object of obsession among the boys of my generation. I'm kind of embarrassed by that now, because she's a really dreadful performer.


Today in History elements mostly cribbed from The History Channel, Wikipedia, The New York Times, The Jewish World Review, The Writer's Almanac and anything else I can dig up.