TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT 1777

During the Revolutionary War, the Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was made a major-general in the American Continental Army.

1556

St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus — the Jesuit order of Catholic priests and brothers — died in Rome.

1715

A fleet of Spanish ships carrying gold, silver and jewelry sank during a hurricane off the east Florida coast; of some 2,500 crew members, more than 1,000 died.

1945

Pierre Laval, premier of the pro-nazi Vichy government, surrendered to U.S. authorities in Austria; he was turned over to France, which later tried and executed him.

1954

Pakistan’s K2 was conquered as two members of an Italian expedition, Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, reached the summit.

1964

The American space probe Ranger 7 reached the moon, transmitting pictures back to Earth before impacting the lunar surface.

1971

Apollo 15 crew members David Scott and James Irwin became the first astronauts to use a lunar rover on the surface of the moon.

1991

President George H.W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in Moscow.

2003

The Vatican launched a global campaign against gay marriages, warning Catholic politicians that support of same-sex unions was “gravely immoral” and urging non-catholics to join the offensive.

2014

The death toll from the worst recorded Ebola outbreak in history surpassed 700 in West Africa.