On this date
In 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized by Joseph Smith in Fayette, N.Y.
In 1862, the Civil War Battle of Shiloh began in Tennessee as Confederate forces launched a surprise attack against Union troops, who beat back the Confederates the next day.
In 1896, the first modern Olympic games formally opened in Athens, Greece.
In 1909, American explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson and four Inuits became the first men to reach the North Pole.
In 1954, Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wis.), responding to CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow’s broadside against him on “See It Now,” said in remarks filmed for the program that Murrow had, in the past, “engaged in propaganda for Communist causes.”
In 1965, the United States launched Intelsat I, also known as the “Early Bird” communications satellite, into geosynchronous orbit.
In 1998, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 9,000 points for the first time, ending the day at 9033.23.
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, failed to overcome sharp differences over a U.S. missile defense system.
Five years ago: Iran and six world powers failed to reach agreement during talks in Kazakhstan on how to reduce fears that Tehran might use its nuclear technology to make weapons.
One year ago: Don Rickles, the comic known as “Mr. Warmth” whose verbal assaults made him the acknowledged grandmaster of insult comedy, died at his Beverly Hills home at age 90.