Discover What Happened Today in History
The Apollo 13 spacecraft launched from Kennedy Space Center on a mission intended to be the third lunar landing. The mission later became famous for the in-flight emergency and the successful safe return of the crew after an oxygen tank explosion.
The Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed, forcing Napoleon Bonaparte to abdicate as Emperor of the French. He was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba, ending his rule over the First French Empire, though he would escape less than a year later.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act. The law prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, or sex.
Scottish nationalists stole the Stone of Scone, the ancient coronation stone of Scottish kings, from Westminster Abbey where it had been kept since 1296. The stone was later recovered and officially returned to Scotland in 1996.
The Treaty of Paris was ratified by the U.S. Senate, formally ending the Spanish-American War. Spain ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States and relinquished sovereignty over Cuba.