1947: United Airlines begins service to Hawaii.
1859: Construction began on Egypt's Suez Canal. After a deadly cholera epidemic which killed about 120,000 lives, the canal opened in 1869 and marks the border between Asia and Africa.
1961: West Germany pays the U.S. $587 million in partial World War II reparations.
2007: The Dow Jones industrial average topped 13,000 for the first time, ending the day at 13,089.89.
Today's Birthdays:
Leader Oliver Cromwell (1599)
Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky (1840)
Inventor Guglielmo Marconi (1874 )
Journalist Edward R. Murrow (1908)
Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)
Actor Al Pacino (1940-)
Actress Renee Zellweger (1969)
