Today in history

Ceremonial "smoke out" day.

1233 - Pope Gregory IX places the Inquisition, in existence since 1227, under the aegis of the Dominican Order. Torture is apparently sometimes necessary to save souls,
and the office continues to exist today as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

1657 - Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City) granted freedom of religion.

1775 - American Revolutionary War: British troops begin siege of Boston, Massachusetts.

1889 - In Braunau, Austria, Klara Hitler gives birth to a bouncing baby boy named Adolf.

1914 - The Ludlow Massacre was one of the bloodiest assaults on organized labor in American history. It was the climax of an effort to suppress a strike by Colorado coal miners of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) union.

1999 - Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold open fire in their high school leaving 15 dead and 23 wounded.