Today in History

• 1972 The arrest of five White House operatives sets off the Watergate scandal

  The men were caught attempting to wiretap the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex. The scandal ultimately led to U.S. President Richard Nixon’s resignation.

• 1944 Iceland becomes a republic

  The Nordic island country had previously been included in the Norwegian and Danish monarchies. The republic’s first President was Sveinn Björnsson.

• 1940 The three Baltic states fall under Soviet occupation

  While the world’s attention was focused on the recent German invasion of Paris, the Soviet Union annexed Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

• 1928 Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic

  Wilmer Stultz piloted the Fokker F.VII aircraft, Earhart kept the flight log. They arrived at Burry Port in Wales, the United Kingdom, 20 hours and 40 minutes later.

• 1885 The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York

  Hundreds of thousands of spectators welcomed the emblematic statue, which was a gift to the United States from the people of France and has become one of the country’s most recognized symbols.