Today in History

1515		King Francis of France defeats the Swiss army under Cardinal Matthias Schiner at Marignano, northern Italy.
1549		Pope Paul III closes the first session of the Council of Bologna.
1564		On the verge of attacking Pedro Menendez's Spanish settlement at San Agostin, Florida, Jean Ribault's French fleet is scattered by a devastating storm.
1759		British troops defeat the French on the plains of Abraham, in Quebec.
1774		Tugot, the new controller of finances, urges the king of France to restore the free circulation of grain in the kingdom.
1782		The British fortress at Gibraltar comes under attack by French and Spanish forces.
1788		The Constitutional Convention authorizes the first federal election resolving that electors in all the states will be appointed on January 7, 1789.
1789		Guardsmen in Orleans, France, open fire on rioters trying to loot bakeries, killing 90.
1846		General Winfield Scott takes Chapultepec, removing the last obstacle to U.S. troops moving on Mexico City.
1862		Union troops in Frederick, Maryland, discover General Robert E. Lee's attack plans for the invasion of Maryland wrapped around a pack of cigars. They give the plans to General George B. McClellan who does nothing with them for the next 14 hours.
1863		The Loudoun County Rangers route a company of Confederate cavalry at Catoctin Mountain in Virginia.
1905		U.S. warships head to Nicaragua on behalf of American William Albers, who was accused of evading tobacco taxes.
1918		U.S. and French forces take St. Mihiel, France in America's first action as a standing army.
1945		Iran demands the withdrawal of Allied forces.
1951		In Korea, U.S. Army troops begin their assault in Heartbreak Ridge. The month-long struggle will cost 3,700 casualties.
1961		An unmanned Mercury capsule is orbited and recovered by NASA in a test.
1976		The United States announces it will veto Vietnam's UN bid.