This Day in History

1805 – Lewis and Clark’s Shoshone guide Sacajawea gave birth to a son, Jean Baptiste.   1809 – Robert Fulton patented the steamboat.   1858 – Saint Bernadette of Lourdes first saw a vision of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, France, leading to the foundation of the shrine of Lourdes.   1929 – Lateran Treaty was signed, with Italy recognizing the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City.   1945 – Yalta Agreement signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Josef Stalin during World War II.   1970 – Japan became the fourth country to put a satellite into orbit.   1979 – Ayatollah Khomeini’s followers seized control of the Iran government.   1989 – The Episcopal Church Boston diocese consecrated Barbara Harris as the church’s first woman bishop.   1990 – South African resistance leader, Nelson Mandela, was released from prison after more than 27 years.]]]]> ]]>