Today in history

On September 10, 1813, an American naval force commanded by Oliver H. Perry defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. (Afterward, Perry sent the message, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.”)

In 1608, John Smith was elected president of the Jamestown colony council in Virginia.

In 1846, Elias Howe received a patent for his sewing machine.

In 1919, New York City welcomed home Gen. John J. Pershing and 25,000 soldiers who’d served in the U.S. First Division during World War I.

In 1935, Sen. Huey P. Long died in Baton Rouge two days after being shot in the Louisiana state Capitol, allegedly by Dr. Carl Weiss.

In 1939, Canada declared war on Germany.

In 1945, Vidkun Quisling was sentenced to death in Norway for collaborating with the Nazis (he was executed by firing squad in October 1945).

In 1955, the Western series “Gunsmoke,” starring James Arness as Marshal Matt Dillon, began a 20-season run on CBS-TV.

In 1963, 20 black students entered Alabama public schools following a standoff between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace.

In 1977, convicted murderer Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant, became the last person to date to be executed by the guillotine in France.

In 1979, four Puerto Rican nationalists imprisoned for a

1954 attack on the U.S. House of Representatives and a 1950 attempt on the life of President Harry S. Truman were freed from prison after being granted clemency by President Jimmy Carter.

In 1987, Pope John Paul II arrived in Miami, where he was welcomed by President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan as he began a 10-day tour of the United States.

In 1991, the Senate Judiciary Committee opened hearings on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ten years ago: Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, told Congress he envisioned the withdrawal of roughly 30,000 U.S. troops by the summer of

2008, saying the surge in U.S. troops had met its military objectives “in large measure.” Academy Award-winning actress Jane Wyman, 90, died in Palm Springs, California.

“History is the great dustheap ... a pageant and not a philosophy.” — Augustine Birrell, English author and statesman (1850-1933).