Today in History

• 2005 The Airbus A380 takes to the skies for the first time

  The double-deck airliner is the world’s largest commercial jet.

• 1994 South African citizens of all races are allowed to vote in a general election for the first time

  The 1994 general election was held precisely 44 years after Apartheid was formalized by the government with the passing of the Group Areas Act.

• 1992 For the first time in its 700-year history, the British House of Commons is presided over by a female Speaker

  Betty Boothroyd served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1992 to 2000.

• 1961 Sierra Leone becomes an independent republic

  The West African country’s first Prime Minister, Sir Milton Margai, ended over 150 years of British colonial rule.

• 1810 Ludwig van Beethoven composes “Für Elise”

  “Bagatelle No. 25” for solo piano is one of the German composer’s most popular works and one of the most recognized melodies in the history of music.