TODAY INHISTORY
On Aug. 13, 1521, Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured what is now Mexico City from the Aztecs.
In 1624 French King Louis XIII named Cardinal Richelieu his first minister.
In 1704 the Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces over French and Bavarian soldiers.
In 1818 suffragist Lucy Stone was born in West Brookfield, Mass.
In 1846 the American flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles.
In 1860 sharpshooter Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Anne Moses in Darke County, Ohio.
In 1899 filmmaker Alfred Hitch cock was born in London.
In 1910 Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, died in London; shewas 90.
In 1932 Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vicechancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out “for all or nothing.”
In 1934 the satirical comic strip “Li’l Abner,” created by Al Capp, made its debut.
In 1942 Walt Disney’s animated feature “Bambi” premiered at Radio City MusicHall in New York.
In 1946 author H.G. Wells died in London; he was 79.
In 1948 opera star Kathleen Battle was born in Portsmouth, Ohio.
In1960 the first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo1.
In 1961 East Germany closed the border between East and West Berlin in an attempt to halt the flight of refugees from the East. (Two days later, work began on the Berlin Wall.)
In 1981, in a ceremony at his California ranch, President Ronald Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions.
In 1993 a body found in a South Carolina creek was identified as that of James Jord an, 57, father
of basketball superstar Michael Jordan. (Two teenagers were later convicted in his murder.)
In 1995 baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died in Dallas; hewas 63.
In1997 the animated comedy series “South Park” began airing on Comedy Central.
In 1999, at age 30, tennis player Steffi Graf retired from the sport that she had dominated for nearly two decades.
In 2000 Somalia swore in legislators for its first central government after almost a decade of internecine warfare.
In 2003 Libya agreed to set up a $2.7 billion fund for the families of 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Ambombing.
In 2004 a stronger-thanexpected Hurricane Charley roared ashore Florida’s Gulf Coast as a dangerous Category 4 storm, resulting in at least 10 U.S. deaths. Also in
2004 Hutu marauders raided a U.N. refugee camp in western Burundi, shooting and hacking at least 150 Congolese Tutsis to death. Also in 2004 the Summer Olympics officially opened in Athens.
Also in 2004 television chef Julia Child died in Montecito, Calif.; she was 91.
In 2006 Israel’s Cabinet became the final party to sign on to a U.N. cease-fire deal with Hezbollah.
In 2009 Les Paul, the virtuoso guitarist and entertainer who paved the way for rock ’n’ roll with his innovations to instruments and recording technology, died in White Plains, N.Y.; hewas 94.
In 2012 Helen Gurley Brown, pioneering editor of Cosmopolitan magazine and author of the1962 best-seller “Sex and the Single Girl, died; she was 90.
In 2014 Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos, 49, and six others died in plane crash near the coastal city of Santos.
In 2016 Michael Phelps closed out his Olympics career in Rio de Janeiro with a team win in the 400-meter medley relay, giving the most decorated athlete in Olympic history his 23rd career gold medal. Also in 2016 Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2 in the “Star Wars” movies, died in Preston, England; hewas 81.