November 21st, 2008

Today in History

1995:
1995 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 5,000 (5,023.55) for the first time.

1964:
Second Vatican Council: The third period of the Catholic Church's ecumenical council closes.

1953:
Authorities at the British Natural History Museum announce that the skull of the "Piltdown Man", held to be one of the most famous fossil skulls in the world, was a hoax.

1861:
American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints Judah Benjamin secretary of war.

1791:
Colonel Napoléon Bonaparte is promoted to full general and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the French Republic.