TODAY IN HISTORY

August 3, 1492

Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on a voyage that took him to the present-day Americas. ALSO ON THIS DATE

1807

Former Vice President Aaron Burr went on trial before a federal court in Richmond, Virginia, charged with treason.

1916

Irish-born British diplomat Roger Casement, a strong advocate of independence for Ireland, was hanged for treason.

1921

Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis refused to reinstate the former Chicago White Sox players implicated in the “Black Sox” scandal, despite their acquittals in a jury trial.

1936

Jesse Owens of the United States won the first of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he took the 100-meter sprint.

1943

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. George S. Patton slapped a private at an army hospital in Sicily, accusing him of cowardice.

1949

The National Basketball Association was formed as a merger of the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League.

1958

The nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater.

1966

Comedian Lenny Bruce, whose raunchy brand of satire and dark humor landed him in trouble with the law, was found dead in his Los Angeles home; he was 40.