| 1942: Normandie burns in New York
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The Normandie, regarded by many as the most elegant ocean liner ever built, burns in New York Harbor during its conversion to an Allied troop transport ship. Built in France in the early 1930s, the Normandie ruled the transatlantic passenger trade in its day. The first major liner to cross the Atlantic in less than four days, its masterful engineering was only surpassed by its design excellence. The 1,000-foot ship's distinctive clipper-ship bow was immediately recognizable, and its elaborate architecture and decorations popularized the Moderne style. After the American entrance into World War II, it was seized by the U.S. Navy for the Allied war effort and renamed the U.S.S. Lafayette. However, on February 9, 1942--just days before it was to be completed for trooping--a welder accidentally set fire to a pile of flammable life preservers with his torch, and by early the next morning the ship lay capsized in the harbor, a gutted wreck. It was later towed south to New Jersey and scrapped.
1994
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres reach agreement on security issues that have stalled the Israeli/ PLO peace negotiations.
1988
British Members of Parliament vote to allow TV cameras into the House of Commons on an experimental basis.
1967
In London, Queen Elizabeth II meets Soviet leader Alexei Kosygin at Buckingham Palace.
1964
'Beatlemania' grips America as an estimated 70 million watch 'The Beatles' appear on 'The Ed Sullivan Show'.
1962
Jamaica becomes an independent nation within the British Commonwealth.
1949
American film actor Robert Michum is jailed for 2 months in Los Angeles for smoking marijuana.
1943
World War II: US Marines win the battle to re-take the island of Guadalcanal from the Japanese.
1941
World War II: German troops commanded by General Erwin Rommel cross from Italy to North Africa.
1916
World War I; Britain introduces Conscription.
1893
World's first public striptease at the Moulin Rouge in Paris .
1830
Explorer Charles Sturt discovers the source of the Murray River in Australia.
1718
French colonists land in Louisiana, USA.
1540
First recorded horse racing meeting in Britain is held at the Roodeye Field, Chester.
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