TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT 1776

The second Continental Congress made the term “United States” official, replacing “United Colonies.”

1543

Mary Stuart was crowned Queen of Scots at Stirling Castle, nine months after she was born.

1850 1942

During World War II, a Japanese plane launched from a submarine off the Oregon coast dropped a pair of incendiary bombs in a failed attempt at igniting a massive forest fire; it was the first aerial bombing of the U.S. mainland by a foreign power.

1948 1956

Elvis Presley made the first of three appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

1971

Prisoners seized control of the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York, beginning a siege that ended up claiming 43 lives.

1986

Frank Reed, director of a private school in Lebanon, was taken hostage; he was released 44 months later.

1991

Boxer Mike Tyson was indicted in Indianapolis on a charge of raping Desiree Washington, a beauty pageant contestant.

2005

Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown, the principal target of harsh criticism of the Bush administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina, was relieved of his onsite command.

2013

Four days of vehicular gridlock began near the George Washington Bridge when two of three approach lanes from Fort Lee, New Jersey, were blocked off; the traffic jam was later blamed on loyalists to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over the refusal of Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich to endorse Christie for re-election.

2014

Apple unveiled its longanticipated smartwatch as well as the next generation of its iphone.