TODAY IN HISTORY
1782 A statue of Peter the Great is unveiled in St Petersburg on the 100th anniversary of his accession to the throne. It was made by French sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet, who spent 12 years on the work. Empress Catherine commissioned it in 1765. The photo shows a drawing by A P Davydov of the inauguration of the monument
William Cosby arrives in New York to assume his post as Governor for the New York Province.
1731
French stuntman Philippe Petit repeatedly walks a tightrope strung between the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center.
1782
Gen George Washington creates the Order of the Purple Heart, a decoration to recognise merit in enlisted men and non-commissioned officers.
1789
The US Department of War is established by Congress.
1819
South American liberator Simon Bolivar defeats Spanish forces under Gen Jose Barreiro in New Granada (Colombia) at the Battle of Boyaca. The revolutionary army enters Bogota on August 10.
1882
The famous feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky erupts into fullscale violence.
1912
The Progressive Party nominates Theodore Roosevelt for President.
1927
The already opened Peace Bridge connecting Buffalo, New York, and Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, is officially dedicated.
1942
US and other allied forces land at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II. Japanese forces abandon the island the following February.
1959
The United States launches the Explorer 6 satellite, which sent back images of Earth.
1964
Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Lyndon B Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on US forces.
1971
Apollo 15 returns to the Earth after a manned mission to the Moon.
1974 1989
A plane carrying US Representative Mickey Leland (Democrat-Texas) and 14 others disappears over Ethiopia. The wreckage of the plane is found six days later with no survivors.
1990
President George H W Bush orders US troops and warplanes to Saudi Arabia to guard the oil-rich country against a possible invasion by Iraq.
1998
Terrorist bombs at US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania kill 224 people, including 12 Americans.
2000
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore selects Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman as his running mate; Lieberman becomes the first Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket.
2002
Major league baseball players and owners agree on the sport’s first tests for steroids.
2007
Barry Bonds becomes baseball’s career home run leader when he hit No. 756 during a home game in San Francisco, passing Hank Aaron’s mark.
2008
Georgia shells the capital of breakaway republic South Ossetia. Russia responds by occupying much of Georgia in a five-day war.
2009
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin accuses President Barack Obama of proposing a ‘death panel’ that would decide who receives treatment in his healthcare plan.
2010
Elena Kagan is sworn in as the 112th justice and fourth woman to serve on the US Supreme Court.