Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1779

John Adams was named to negotiate the Revolutionary War's peace terms with Britain.

1825

The first locomotive to haul a passenger train was operated by George Stephenson in England.

1854

The first great disaster involving an ocean liner in the Atlantic occurred when the steamship Arctic sank with 300 people aboard.

1928

The United States said it was recognizing the Nationalist Chinese government.

1939

Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.

1942

Glenn Miller and his Orchestra performed together for the last time, at the Central Theater in Passaic, N.J., prior to Miller's entry into the Army.

1954

''Tonight!'' hosted by Steve Allen, made its debut on NBC-TV.

1959

A typhoon battered the main Japanese island of Honshu, killing nearly 5,000 people.

1964

The Warren Commission issued a report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President Kennedy.

1990

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Supreme Court nomination of David H. Souter.

1991

The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked, 7-7, on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

1994

More than 350 Republican congressional candidates signed the ''Contract with America,'' a 10-point platform they pledged to enact if voters sent a GOP majority to the House.

1995

The government unveiled its redesigned $100 bill, featuring a larger, off-center portrait of Benjamin Franklin.

1996

The Taliban, a band of former seminary students, drove the government of Afghani President Burhanuddin Rabbani out of Kabul, captured the capital and executed former leader Najibullah.

1998

Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder was elected chancellor of Germany, ending 16 years of conservative rule.

1998

Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his record-setting 69th and 70th home runs duing the last game of the season.

1999

Tiger Stadium closed after 87 years, with Detroit beating the Kansas City Royals 8-2.