On this date

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte and his French army were defeated by British and Prussian troops at Waterloo in Belgium.

In 1940, during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to conduct themselves in a manner that would prompt future generations to say, “This was their finest hour.”

In 1948, Columbia Records publicly unveiled its new long-playing phonograph record in New York.

In 1953, Egypt’s 148-year-old Muhammad Ali Dynasty came to an end with the overthrow of the monarchy and the proclamation of a republic.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Japanese Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda spoke to each other by telephone as they inaugurated the first trans-Pacific cable between Japan and Hawaii.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter and Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev signed the SALT II strategic arms limitation treaty in Vienna.

In 1983, astronaut Sally K. Ride became America’s first woman in space as she and four colleagues blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger on a six-day mission.

Ten years ago: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he would bring Osama bin Laden to justice in a way that wouldn’t allow the terrorist mastermind to become a martyr. (Bin Laden was tracked down and killed by U.S. forces in May 2011 during Obama’s presidency.)

Five years ago: The Taliban and the United States said they would hold talks on finding a political solution to ending nearly 12 years of war in Afghanistan, as the international coalition formally handed over control of the country’s security to the Afghan army and police.

One year ago: Voters gave French President Emmanuel Macron’s fledgling party a solid victory in parliamentary elections.