Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1778

American forces entered Philadelphia as the British withdrew during the Revolutionary War.

1812

President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain to begin the War of 1812, which was the last time U.S. territory was captured by a foreign power.

1815

British and Prussian troops defeated the French under Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo in Belgium.

1873

Suffragist Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.

1928

Aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as she completed a flight from Newfoundland to Wales in about 21 hours.

1940

As the Battle of Britain loomed during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to persevere so that future generations would say, ''This was their finest hour.''

1945

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower received a tumultuous welcome in Washington, where he addressed a joint session of Congress.

1948

Columbia Records publicly unveiled its new long-playing phonograph record in New York City. The new disc turned at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute, offering superior sound quality and fewer interruptions than 78 rpm records.

1948

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted its International Declaration of Human Rights.

1979

President Carter and Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev signed the SALT II strategic arms limitation treaty in Vienna.

1983

Astronaut Sally K. Ride became America's first woman in space as she and four colleagues blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

1984

Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg was shot to death outside his home. Two white supremacists were convicted of civil rights violations in the slaying.

1996

Richard Allen Davis was convicted in San Jose, Calif., of the 1993 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas of Petaluma.

2020

The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that President Donald Trump could not end the DACA program that allowed certain immigrants who entered illegally as children to stay in the country, due to the administration not following proper procedures.

1942

Singer/songwriter Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool, England.