TODAY IN HISTORY
1645
The Battle of Rowton Heath is a parliamentarian victory over a Royalist army commanded in person by King Charles.
1789
The United States Congress passes the Judiciary Act, which creates the office of the United States Attorney General and the federal judiciary system, and orders the composition of the Supreme Court of the United States.
1830
A revolutionary committee of notables forms the Provisional Government of Belgium.
1841
The Sultanate of Brunei cedes Sarawak to the United Kingdom.
1846
Mexican–American War: General Zachary Taylor captures Monterrey.
1852
The first airship powered by (a steam) engine, created by Henri Giffard, travels 27km from Paris to Trappes.
1853
Admiral Despointes formally takes possession of New Caledonia in the name of France.
1869
Gold prices plummet after President Grant orders the Treasury to sell large quantities of gold after Jay Gould and James Fisk plot to control the market.
1877
The Battle of Shiroyama is a decisive victory of the Imperial Japanese Army over the Satsuma Rebellion.
1906
US President Theodore Roosevelt proclaims Devils Tower in Wyoming as the nation’s first National Monument.
1906
Racial tensions in Atlanta come to an all-time high, due to fabricated stories of sexual assault, which leads to the Atlanta Race Riot, further increasing racial segregation in the American South.
1911
His Majesty’s Airship No. 1, Britain’s first rigid airship, is wrecked by strong winds before her maiden flight at Barrow-in-Furness.
1935
Earl and Weldon Bascom produce the first rodeo ever held outdoors under electric lights.
1946
Cathay Pacific Airways is founded in Hong Kong.
1946
The top-secret Clifford-Elsey Report on the Soviet Union is delivered to President Truman.
1948
The Honda Motor Company is founded.
1950
The Chinchaga fire in western Canada becomes the largest recorded fire in North American history, sending smoke all the way to Europe.
1957
President Eisenhower sends the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation.
1972
Japan Airlines Flight 472 lands at Juhu Aerodrome instead of Santacruz Airport in Bombay, India.
1973
Guinea-Bissau declares its independence from Portugal.
1993
The Cambodian monarchy is restored, with Norodom Sihanouk as King.
1996
Representatives of 71 nations sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty at the United Nations.
2005
Hurricane Rita makes landfall in the United States, devastating portions of southwestern Louisiana and extreme southeastern Texas.
2007
Between 30,000 and 100,000 people take part in anti-government protests in Yangon, Burma.
2013
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes southern Pakistan, killing at least 327 people.
2014
The Mars Orbiter Mission makes India the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, and the first nation in the world to do so in its first attempt.