1972: After two weeks of heavy bombing raids on North Vietnam, President Nixon halted the air offensive when the U.S. and North Vietnam agreed to resume peace negotiations. Read HistoryNet.com's short history of the Vietnam War .
Also happening today in history, in the U.S. and elsewhere:
- 1460: The Duke of York in England was defeated and killed by Lancastrians at the Battle of Wakefield. Read about the Wars of the Roses on HistoryNet.com.
- 1922: Vladimir Lenin proclaimed the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which lasted nearly seven decades before dissolving in Dec. 1991.
- 2006: Saddam Hussein, former Iraq dictator, was executed for crimes committed against his own people during his rule.
