On this date in history:

In 1609, navigator Henry Hudson discovered the island of Manhattan.

In 1954, the first voyage through the fabled Northwest Passage was completed by icebreakers from the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.

In 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine African-American students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.

In 1972, U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz became the first athlete to win seven gold medals in a single Olympic Games. (The record stood until American swimmer Michael Phelps won eight golds at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.)

In 1991, South African President F.W. de Klerk proposed a new constitution. It provided for universal voting rights and opened Parliament to all races.

In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush said he would seek congressional approval for any military move on Iraq. He also promised to consult with allies, some of whom were opposed to his regime change plan.

In 2006, Steve Irwin, Australia's internationally renowned Crocodile Hunter TV star, was killed by a stingray barb to the heart while he was filming underwater.

In 2010, a U.S. District judge in San Francisco struck down California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriages, saying it was unconstitutional.

In 2012, the Democratic National Convention opened in Charlotte, N.C.

In 2013, during a visit in Sweden en route to a G20 summit in Russia, U.S. President Barack Obama said he and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt discussed the appalling violence being inflicted on the Syrian people by the [Bashar al-Assad] regime, including the horrific chemical weapons attacks two weeks ago.

In 2014, caustic comedienne Joan Rivers, whose cutting barbs were often aimed at celebrities, including herself, died at the age of 81 at a hospital in New York City. Her daughter, Melissa, said, My mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh.

Copyright 2015 by United Press International