On this day :

1904 New York City subway opens, 1775 King George III speaks to Parliament of American rebellion, 2006 ChickfilA founder takes last Ford Taurus, 1864 Battle of Hatchers Run Burgess Mill, 1962 The United States and Soviet Union step back from brink of nuclear war, 1940 Mafia boss John Gotti is born, 1995 Avalanche buries homes in Iceland, 1659 Quakers executed for religious beliefs, 1858 Teddy Roosevelt born, 1914 Dylan Thomas born, 1994 US prison population exceeds one million, 1924 Actress Ruby Dee born, 1932 Sylvia Plath is born, 1970 Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber release Jesus Christ Superstar, 1873 Joseph Glidden applies for a patent on his barbed wire design, 1858 Theodore Roosevelt is born, 2004 Red Sox win first championship since 1918, 1966 Ambassador Harriman sent to explain Manila offer, 1971 Cambodian troops battle Communists north of Phnom Penh, 1918 German general Erich Ludendorff resigns, 1940 De Gaulle sets up the Empire Defense Council,