On this date
In 1653, New Amsterdam — now New York City — was incorporated.
In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican-American War, was signed.
In 1914, Charles Chaplin made his movie debut as the comedy short “Making a Living” was released by Keystone Film Co.
In 1959, public schools in Arlington and Norfolk, Va., were racially desegregated without incident.
In 1964, Ranger 6, a lunar probe launched by NASA, crashed onto the surface of the moon as planned, but failed to send back any TV images. In 1980, NBC News reported the FBI had conducted a sting operation targeting members of Congress using phony Arab businessmen in what became known as “Abscam,” a code name protested by Arab-Americans.
In 1990, in a dramatic concession to South Africa’s black majority, President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.
Ten years ago: A grim report from the world’s leading climate scientists and government officials said that global warming was so severe, it would “continue for centuries” and that humans were to blame.
Five years ago: Donald Trump announced his endorsement of Republican Mitt Romney for president, saying the former Massachusetts governor was “not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country we all love.”
One year ago: Health officials reported that a person in Texas had become infected with the Zika virus through sex in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States.