Today in History

1797 Albany became the capital of New York state, replacing New York City.

1808 A law prohibiting the importation of slaves into the United States went into effect.

1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states were free.

1892 The Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York opened.

1898 New York City was consolidated into five buroughs.

1901 The Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed.

1945 France was admitted to the United Nations.

1953 Country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, died of a drug and alcohol overdose.

1958 Treaties establishing the European Economic Community went into effect.

1979 The United States and China held celebrations in Washington and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

1984 AT&T was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement.

1990 David Dinkins was sworn in as New York City's first African-American mayor.

1993 Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

1994 The North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect.

1998 An anti-smoking law went into effect in California, prohibiting people from lighting up in bars.

1999 The euro became the official currency of 11 European countries.

2008 No-smoking rules went into effect in France, prohibiting people from lighting up in cafes, bars and restaurants.