Today in History

1396		The last great Christian crusade, led jointly by John the Fearless of Nevers and King Sigismund of Hungary, ends in disaster at the hands of Sultan Bajazet I's Ottoman army at Nicopolis.
1598		In Sweden, King Sigismund is defeated at Stangebro by his Uncle Charles.
1775		British troops capture Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga, when he and a handful of Americans try to invade Canada.
1789		Congress proposes 12 new amendments to the Constitution.
1804		The 12th Amendment is ratified, changing the procedure of choosing the president and vice-president.
1846		American General Zachary Taylor's forces capture Monterey, Mexico.
1909		The first National Aeronautic Show opens at Madison Square Garden.
1915		An allied offensive is launched in France against the German Army.
1918		Brazil declares war on Austria.
1937		German Chancellor Adolf Hitler meets with Italian Premier Benito Mussolini in Munich.
1938		President Franklin Roosevelt urges negotiations between Hitler and Czech President Benes over the Sudetenland.
1942		The War Labor Board orders equal pay for women in the United States.
1943		The Red Army retakes Smolensk from the Germans who are retreating to the Dnieper River in the Soviet Union.
1959		President Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Khrushchev begin Camp David talks.
1974		Scientists warn that continued use of aerosol sprays will cause ozone depletion, which will lead to an increased risk of skin cancer and global weather changes.
1981		Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice, is sworn in.
1983		Maze Prison escape, County Antrim, Northern Ireland; 38 IRA prisoners escape in the largest prison breakout in British history; known among Irish republicans as the Great Escape.
1992		NASA launches Mars Observer probe; it failed 11 months later.
1996		Ireland's last Magdalene laundry closes; begun as asylums to rehabilitate "fallen women," they increasingly took on prison-like qualities.
2008		China launches Shenzhou 7 spacecraft; crew performs China's first extra-vehicular activity (EVA).
2009		US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy jointly accuse Iran of building a secrecy nuclear enrichment facility.