Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1565

A Spanish expedition established the first permanent European settlement in North America at present-day St. Augustine, Fla.

1664

The Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the British, who renamed it New York.

1900

Galveston, Texas, was struck by a hurricane that killed about 6,000 people.

1921

Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C., was crowned the first Miss America in Atlantic City, N.J.

1934

A fire aboard the liner Morro Castle off the New Jersey coast claimed 134 lives.

1935

Sen. Huey P. Long, ''The Kingfish'' of Louisiana politics, was shot and mortally wounded; he died two days later.

1945

Bess Myerson of New York was crowned Miss America, the first Jewish contestant to win the title.

1951

A peace treaty with Japan was signed by 48 other nations in San Francisco.

1952

The Ernest Hemingway novel ''The Old Man and the Sea'' was published.

1966

The TV series ''Star Trek'' premiered on NBC.

1974

President Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former President Nixon.

1975

Boston's public schools began their court-ordered citywide busing program amid scattered incidents of violence.

1994

A USAir Boeing 737 crashed as it was approaching Pittsburgh International Airport, killing all 132 people on board.

1998

Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals broke Roger Maris' 37-year-old record for home runs in a single season, hitting No. 62 off Chicago Cubs pitcher Steve Trachsel.

2000

The head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs apologized for the federal agency's ''legacy of racism and inhumanity'' that included massacres, forced relocations of tribes and attempts to wipe out Indian cultures.

2016

NASA launches OSIRIS-REx, its first asteroid sample return mission. The probe will visit 101955 Bennu and is expected to return with samples in 2023.

2014

S. Truett Cathy, American businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist who founded the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A in 1946. (b. 1921)

2017

Don Williams, American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number one country hits. (b. 1939)

2022

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom dies at Balmoral Castle in Scotland after reigning for 70 years. Her son Charles, Prince of Wales, ascends the throne upon her death as Charles III. (b. 1926)

2022

Gwyneth Powell, English actress. She was best known for her portrayal of headmistress Bridget McClusky in the BBC television series Grange Hill for eleven series between 1981 and 1991. (b. 1946)