From the ArcaMax Publishing, History & Quotes Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/quotes/s-568805-391504
In 1807, the U.S frigate Chesapeake was fired upon and then boarded by
the crew of the British battleship Leopold about 40 miles east of
Chesapeake Bay.
In 1918, 53 circus performers and many circus animals were killed when
an empty troop train rear-ended the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train,
which was stopped in Ivanhoe, Ind., to fix its brakes.
In 1937, Joe Louis knocked out Jim Braddock in the eighth round to
become the world heavyweight boxing champion. He was the first
African-American champ since Jack Johnson lost his title in 1915.
In 1940, France fell to Germany in World War II.
In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
In 1965 movie mogul David O. Selznick, producer of "Gone With The
Wind," died at age 62.
In 1969, show business legend Judy Garland died of an overdose of
sleeping pills. She was 47.
In 1973, U.S. President Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid
Brezhnev signed a pledge to try to avoid nuclear war.
In 1977, John Mitchell became the first former U.S. attorney general
to go to jail when he entered a federal prison to serve time for
Watergate crimes.
In 1990, South African police tightened security around President
Frederik Willem de Klerk and detained 11 right-wing activists after a
published report detailed an alleged plot to assassinate de Klerk and
black nationalist Nelson Mandela.
In 1991, the South African government, the Inkatha Freedom party and
ANC met for the first time in Johannesburg to discuss a way to end
factional violence.
In 2003, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon offered to cede
responsibility for security in some West Bank and Gaza Strip areas to
the Palestinians.
In 2004, a South Korean translator was beheaded by kidnappers in Iraq
after his country refused to pull its troops.
Also in 2004, former U.S. President Bill Clinton's autobiography "My
Life" was published to an awaiting audience of readers so great the
publisher ordered a second printing the next day.
In 2006, a New York Times report said the U.S. government had for
years used a database of international financial transactions to trace
money going to terrorists.
Also in 2006, flooding and landslides on the Indonesian island of
Sulawesi claimed at least 195 lives with another 128 people missing.
In 2007, North Korea officials told the United States it was prepared
to shut down its primary nuclear reactor after a problem over frozen
funds was settled.
Also in 2007, at least 25 civilians were killed when NATO forces
responded with an airstrike to an attack by the Taliban in
Afghanistan.
In 2008, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who was to have faced
incumbent Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in a June 27 runoff, said
he pulled out of the race rather than subject supporters to more
violence and intimidation. He called the election a "violent,
illegitimate sham."