TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT August 7, 1964

Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1782

Gen. George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart, a decoration to recognize merit in enlisted men and noncommissioned officers.

1789

The U.S. Department of War was established by Congress.

1882

The famous feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky erupted into full-scale violence.

1942

U.S. and other allied forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.

1959

The United States launched the Explorer 6 satellite, which sent back images of Earth.

1989

A plane carrying U.S. Rep. Mickey Leland, D-Texas, and 14 others disappeared over Ethiopia.

1990

President George H.W. Bush ordered U.S. troops and warplanes to Saudi Arabia to guard the oil-rich desert kingdom against a possible invasion by Iraq.