This Day In History

• 982- King Otto II and his Frankish army defeated in pitched battle with Muslim army of al-Qasim at Cape Colonna, Southern Italy

• 1223- Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II

• 1420- Battle at Vitkov Zizka's hill (Prague): Taboriets beat Bohemia

• 1714- Battle of Aland, Russian fleet overpowers larger Swedish naval force

• 1789- Bastille Day - the French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille Prison in Paris (now celebrated as France's national day)

• 1853- New Zealand holds its first general election

• 1863- Battle of Falling Waters, Maryland (Beaver Creek)

• 1864 - Gold is discovered in Helena, Montana

• 1865 - English mountaineer Edward Whymper leads first expedition to climb the Matterhorn (four die on the descent)

• 1891 - John T Smith patents corkboard

• 1914 - Robert Goddard is granted the first patent for liquid-fueled rocket design

• 1933 - All non-Nazi parties are banned in Germany

• 1938 - Benito Mussolini publishes anti-Jewish/African manifesto

• 1945 - Battleship USS South Dakota is 1st US ship to bombard Japan

• 1957 - Soviet steamer "Eshghbad" sinks in Caspian Sea, drowning 270

• 1958 - General Abdul K Kassem forms a military government in Iraq overthrowing the monarchy.

• 1959 - USS Long Beach, first nuclear powered cruiser launched at Quincy, Mass

• 1965 - Israeli/Jordanian border fights

• 1965 - US Mariner IV, 1st Mars probe, passes at 6,100 miles (9,800 km)

• 1967 - Surveyor 4 launched to Moon; explodes just before landing

• 1969 - The United States $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills are officially withdrawn from circulation.