Today:
1782: The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States.
1819: The SS Savannah arrives in Liverpool, England, becoming the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic.
1837: Queen Victoria ascends the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV.
1863: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th state of the United States.
1893: Lizzie Borden is acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother.
1944: The Battle of the Philippine Sea ends with a decisive U.S. naval victory over Japan during World War II.
1963: The United States and the Soviet Union establish a direct communications link known as the “Hotline.”
1967: Muhammad Ali is convicted of refusing induction into the U.S. Army.
1990: Asteroid Eureka, the first Mars Trojan asteroid, is discovered.
1991: The German parliament votes to move the capital from Bonn back to Berlin.