Today In History...

In 1608 The City of Quebec is founded by Samuel de Champlain.

In 1775 General George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1819 The first savings bank in the U.S., the Bank of Savings in New York City, opens.

In 1863 The 3-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, PA, ends in a major victory for the North when Confederate troops retreated.

In 1890 Idaho becomes the 43rd U.S. state.

In 1898 The U.S. Navy defeats the Spanish fleet in the harbor at Santiago, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War.

In 1930 Congress creates the U.S. Veterans Administration.

In 1938 The railroad steam locomotive speed record of 126 miles per hour is set in England.

In 1940 Abbott and Costello make their radio debut on NBC, replacing comedian Fred Allen for the remainder of the summer.

In 1944 During World War II, Soviet forces recapture Minsk.

In 1950 American and North Korean forces clash for the first time in the Korean War.

In 1962 After 132 years of French rule, Algeria becomes independent.

In 1974 Soyuz 14 carries 2 cosmonauts to space station Salyut 3.

In 1976 Israel launches a rescue of passengers being held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda by pro-Palestinian hijackers.

In 1978 The U.S. Supreme Court rules the FCC was within its authority to reprimand New York radio station WBAI-FM for broadcasting a George Carlin comedy routine.

In 1979 Dan White, convicted in the shooting deaths of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, is sentenced to 7 years and 8 months in prison. (He served 5 years.)

In 1981 Chris Evert Lloyd defeats Hana Mandlikova to win her third straight women's singles title at Wimbledon.

In 1982 Martina Navratilova defeats Chris Evert Lloyd at Wimbledon.

In 1983 Tennis star John McEnroe regains the men's singles title at Wimbledon, defeating unseeded Chris Lewis of New Zealand.

In 1984 The U.S. Supreme Court rules the Jaycees must admit women as members.

In 1985 CBS announces it would buy back 21 percent of its own stock.

In 1985 "Back To The Future" starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd opens in U.S. theaters.

In 1985 The U.S. and the Soviet Union announce that President Reagan andSoviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev would hold their first summit in late November, in Geneva.

In 1986 President Reagan presides over a gala ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty.

In 1987 Two men become the first hot-air balloon travelers to cross the Atlantic. British millionaire Richard Branson and Swedish-born Per Lindstrand, the balloon's designer, were forced to jump into the sea as their craft went down off the coast of Scotland.

In 1988 The U.S.S. Vincennes shoots down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 aboard, after erroneously identifying the plane as an Iranian F-14 fighter.

In 1989 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that abortions may not be performed in public buildings.

In 1990 "Die Hard II" starring Bruce Willis opens in U.S. theaters.

In 1990 Apple Computer and IBM publicly join forces in a broad pact to swap technologies and develop new machines.

In 1991 A Fort Worth, TX, police officer is videotaped beating a handcuffed prisoner in his patrol car (the officer was suspended, but later reinstated after a grand jury refused to indict him).

In 1991 "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger opens in U.S. theaters.

In 1992 The president of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel, is voted out of office.

In 1993 Steffi Graf of Germany wins her third consecutive Wimbledon title as she defeated Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic.

In 1993 Baseball Hall-of-Fameer Don Drysdale dies at age 56.

In 1994 Pete Sampras defeats Goran Ivanisevic to win the Wimbledon men's championship.

In 1995 Irish Republican Army sympathizers riot in Northern Ireland's two largest cities in outrage over the early parole of a British soldier convicted of killing a Roman Catholic woman.

In 1996 A blaze destroys a fireworks store in Scottown, OH, full of Fourth of July shoppers, killing eight and injuring 12.

In 1996 Russians re-elected Boris Yeltsin as president over his Communist challenger, Gennady Zyuganov, in a runoff.

In 1997 In his first formal response to charges by Paula Jones of sexual harassment, President Clinton denies all allegations in her lawsuit, and asked a judge to dismiss the case.

In 1999 President Clinton orders inspectors at American ports to brand all unsafe and rejected food products, "Refused U.S."

In 2000 An observation tower that preservationists say desecrated the battlefield of Gettysburg is demolished.

In 2000 A ferry loaded with Christians fleeing fighting with Muslims sinks in a storm, killing more than 400.

In 2000 Harold Nicholas, the younger half of the legendary tap-dancing Nicholas Brothers, dies at age 79.

In 2001 Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic refuses to enter a plea on war crimes charges in his first appearance before a UN tribunalat The Hague.

In 2004 Maria Sharapova wins her first Grand Slam title by beating Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 at Wimbledon.

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