Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1859

The opera ''Faust'' by Charles Gounod premiered in Paris.

1918

Congress approved daylight-saving time.

1920

The United States Senate rejected for the second time the Treaty of Versailles by a vote of 49-35, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval.

1931

Nevada legalized gambling.

1945

About 800 people were killed as Kamikaze planes attacked the U.S. carrier Franklin off Japan; the ship, however, was saved.

1945

Adolf Hitler issued his so-called ''Nero Decree,'' ordering the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands.

1953

The Academy Awards ceremony was televised for the first time, with comedian Bob Hope serving as host. ''The Greatest Show on Earth'' was named best picture of 1952.

1976

Buckingham Palace announced the separation of Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, after 16 years of marriage.

1979

The U.S. House of Representatives began televising its day-to-day business.

1987

Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as chairman of his PTL ministry organization amid a sex-and-money scandal involving Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary.

1988

Two British soldiers were shot to death after they were dragged from a car and beaten by mourners attending an Irish Republican Army funeral in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1990

Latvia's political opposition claimed victory in the republic's first free elections in 50 years.

1993

Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White announced plans to retire. His departure paved the way for Ruth Bader Ginsburg to become the court's second female justice.

1995

After giving up an attempt to become a major league baseball player, Michael Jodan returned to pro basketball with his former team, the Chicago Bulls.

1998

Rupert Murdoch's Fox Group won approval to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers for a record $350 million.