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Today in History in 1918 Howard Cosell, sportscaster, was born in Winston-Salem, N.C.; in 1942 singer Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee; and in 1947 Reginald Kenneth Dwight was born in England – you know him better as Elton John.

Our on this day in history archives contain over 200,000 events, birthdays and deaths from 6,000 years of history. Here is a roundup of a few of them:

HISTORICAL EVENTS

31 - 1st Easter, according to calendar-maker Dionysius Exiguus

1609 - Henry Hudson embarks on an exploration for Dutch East India Co

1807 - British Parliament abolishes slave trade throughout the British Empire; a penalty of £120 per slave is introduced for slave ship captains.

1895 - Italian troops invade Abyssinia (Ethiopia)

1960 - 1st guided missile launched from nuclear powered sub (Halibut)r.

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