On this date in history:

In 1812, Russians set fire to Moscow in an effort to keep out Napoleon and his invading French troops.

In 1942, the armies of Nazi Germany began their siege of the Russian city of Stalingrad.

In 1954, the famous scene in which Marilyn Monroe is shown laughing as her skirt is blown up by a blast of air from a subway vent was shot during the filming of The Seven Year Itch. The scene infuriated her husband, Joe DiMaggio, who felt it was exhibitionist. (The couple divorced a short time later.)

In 1963, four black girls were killed in the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Ala. Two black teenage boys were shot to death later that day as citywide rioting broke out.

In 1971, the environmental organization Greenpeace was founded by 12 members of the Don't Make A Wave committee of Vancouver, British Columbia.

In 1993, Katherine Ann Power, a Vietnam War opponent and a fugitive for more than 20 years in the death of a police officer during a bank robbery in Boston, surrendered. (She pleaded guilty and spent six years in prison.)

In 1999, a 47-year-old man opened fire during a youth service at the Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, killing seven people and wounding seven before killing himself.

In 2000, the 27th Summer Olympic Games opened in Sydney, with a record number of female athletes participating -- and with North and South Korea marching together in the opening procession.

In 2003, more than 100 prisoners were killed in a fire at a maximum-security prison outside the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

In 2009, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession, which began in December 2007, was very likely over but the economy would appear weak for some time.

In 2012, an attack by the Taliban killed two U.S. Marines and destroyed several planes at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. The militants said one of their reasons for the attack was to assassinate Britain's Prince Harry, a helicopter pilot stationed at the base, but officials said he was not in danger. NATO said 18 attackers were killed.

In 2013, authorities said six people had been killed and dozens were stranded in Colorado after a week of flooding caused by record-breaking rains.

Copyright 2014 by United Press International