TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT 1920

Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were indicted for allegedly throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. (All were acquitted at trial, but all eight were banned from the game for life.)

ON THIS DATE 1066

William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne.

1781

American forces in the Revolutionary War, backed by a French fleet, began their successful siege of Yorktown, Va.

1787

The Congress of the Confederation voted to send the just-completed Constitution of the United States to state legislatures for their approval.

1850

Flogging was abolished as a form of punishment in the U.S. Navy.

1924

Three U.S. Army planes landed in Seattle, having completed the first roundthe-world trip by air in 175 days.

1928

Scottish medical researcher Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the first effective antibiotic.

1939

During World War II, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a treaty calling for the partitioning of Poland, which the two countries had invaded.

1962

A federal appeals court found Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett in civil contempt for blocking the admission of James Meredith, a Black student, to the University of Mississippi. (Federal marshals escorted Meredith onto the campus two days later.)

1991

Jazz great Miles Davis died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 65.