1861 Robert E Lee named commander of Virginia forces
1898 U.S. warships begin blockade of Cuba
1912 Pravda, the "voice" of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publications in Saint Petersburg.
1915 First military use of poison gas (chlorine, by Germany) in WW I
1954 Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings began
1955 Congress orders all US coins bear motto "In God We Trust"
1970 First Earth Day celebrated.
1994 Former President Richard Nixon dies
2000 In a predawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old Elin Gonzlez from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida.
