TODAY IN HISTORY

1630

The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changed its name to Boston.

1810

Mexico began its revolt against Spanish rule.

1908

General Motors was founded in Flint, Mich., by William C. Durant.

1940

Samuel T. Rayburn of Texas was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

1974

President Gerald R. Ford announced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam war deserters and draft-evaders.

1982

The massacre of between 1,200 and 1,400Palestinian men, women and children at the hands of Israeli-allied Christian Phalange militiamen began in west Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

2013

Aaron Alexis, a former U.S. Navy reservist, went on a shooting rampage inside the Washington Navy Yard, killing 12 people before being shot dead by police.