Today in History

1571		At the Battle of Lepanto in the Mediterranean Sea, the Christian galley fleet destroys the Turkish galley fleet.
1630		The town of Trimountaine in Massachusetts is renamed Boston. It became the state capital.
1701		England, Austria, and the Netherlands form an Alliance against France.
1778		Shawnee Indians attack and lay siege to Boonesborough, Kentucky.
1812		On the road to Moscow, Napoleon wins a costly victory over the Russians at Borodino.
1813		The earliest known printed reference to the United States by the nickname “Uncle Sam” occurs in the Troy Post.
1864		Union General Phil Sheridan’s troops skirmish with the Confederates under Jubal Early outside Winchester, Virginia.
1876		The James-Younger gang botches an attempt to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota.
1888		An incubator is used for the first time on a premature infant.
1892		The first heavyweight-title boxing match fought with gloves under Marquis of Queensbury rules ends when James J. Corbett knocks out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round.
1912		French aviator Roland Garros sets an altitude record of 13,200 feet.
1916		The U.S. Congress passes the Workman’s Compensation Act.
1940		Germany’s blitz against London begins during the Battle of Britain.
1942		The Red Army pushes back the German line northwest of Stalingrad.
1953		Nikita Krushchev is elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1954		Integration of public schools begins in Washington D.C. and Maryland.
1965		The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio.
1970		Jockey Bill Shoemaker earns his 6,033rd win, breaking Johnny Longden’s record for most lifetime wins; Shoemaker’s record would stand for 29 years.
1977		Panama and the US sign the Torrijos-Carter Treaties to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the US to Panama at the end of the 20th century.
1978		Secret police agent Francesco Gullino assassinates Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in London by firing a ricin pellet from a specially designed umbrella.
1979		ESPN, the Entertainment and Sports Programing Network, debuts.
1986		Desmond Tutu becomes the first black leader of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of South Africa).
1988		Pilot and cosmonaut Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan to travel to outer space, returns to earth after 9 days aboard the Soviet space station Mir.
2004		Hurricane Ivan damages 90% of buildings on the island of Grenada; 39 die in the Category 5 storm.
2008		The US Government assumes conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the country’s two largest mortgage financing companies, during the subprime mortgage crisis.