Today:
955 – Otto I of Germany defeated a large Hungarian army at the Battle of Lechfeld near Augsburg, helping end decades of Magyar raids into Western Europe.
1519 – Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition departed Seville, Spain, beginning the voyage that would ultimately become the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Magellan himself would not survive the journey.
1792 – During the French Revolution, revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris and effectively overthrew the French monarchy. King Louis XVI and his family were taken into custody.
1821 – Missouri was admitted to the United States as the 24th state as part of the political settlement known as the Missouri Compromise.
1846 – Congress established the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., using a bequest from British scientist James Smithson for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
1921 – Franklin D. Roosevelt became seriously ill while vacationing on Campobello Island. He was later diagnosed with polio, and the illness left his legs permanently paralyzed.
1945 – Japan announced that it was willing to accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration provided Emperor Hirohito’s position was preserved, an important step toward ending World War II.
1961 – The United States began using the herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam. Over the following decade, millions of acres were sprayed, with severe long-term health and environmental consequences.
1977 – David Berkowitz, the serial killer known as the “Son of Sam,” was arrested in Yonkers, New York, ending a series of shootings that had terrorized New York City for more than a year.
1993 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the second woman in American history to serve on the Court.