TODAY IN HISTORY

1806

Explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado.

1864

During the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman began their “March to the Sea” from Atlanta; the campaign ended with the capture of Savannah on Dec. 21.

1939

President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

1942

The naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended during World War II with a decisive U.S. victory over Japanese forces.