Today

1954 - U.S. representatives meet in Geneva. The Geneva Conference marks a turning point in the United States' involvement in Vietnam.

1986 - The world's worst nuclear power plant accident occurs at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the former Soviet Union. An estimated 5,000 Soviet citizens die from cancer and other radiation-induced illnesses, and millions more are afflicted.

Tomorrow

1521 - After traveling three-quarters of the way around the globe, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan is killed during a tribal skirmish in the Philippines.

Wednesday

1925 - Poet T.S. Eliot accepts a position as editor at Faber and Faber publishers.

1945 - "Il Duce," Benito Mussolini, and his mistress Clara Petacci are shot by Italian partisans who had captured the couple as they attempted to flee to Switzerland.

1970 - President Richard Nixon gives his formal authorization to commit U.S. combat troops, in cooperation with South Vietnamese units, against communist troops in Cambodia.

Thursday

1854 - By an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature, Ashmun Institute, the first college founded solely for black students, is officially chartered.

1945 - The U.S. Seventh Army's 45th Infantry Division liberates Dachau, the first concentration camp established by Germany's Nazi regime.

Friday

1789 - In New York City, George Washington is inaugurated as the first president of the United States.

1803 - Representatives of the United States and Napoleonic France conclude negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, a massive land sale that doubles the size of the United States.

1945 -Adolf Hitler commits suicide by consuming a cyanide capsule and then shooting himself with a pistol.