On this date in history:

In 1765, the Stamp Act was passed by Britain's Parliament, introducing a tax on printed materials in the American colonies. Colonists believed this to be a violation of their rights and was a major grievance listed in the Declaration of Independence.

In 1791, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation forbidding slave trading with foreign nations.

In 1941, the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River began producing electrical power for the Pacific Northwest.

In 1945, representatives from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen met in Cairo to establish the Arab League.

In 1963, Please Please Me, the debut album from The Beatles, is released in the United Kingdom.

In 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson recalled Army Gen. William Westmoreland as commander of U.S. troops in Vietnam and made him Army chief of staff. Gen. Creighton Abrams took over in Saigon.

In 1992, a USAir plane skidded off a runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport during a snowstorm and landed in Flushing Bay. Twenty-seven people were killed.

In 2003, a U.S. Army maintenance convoy in Iraq made a wrong turn and was ambushed. Eleven soldiers were killed and seven, including Pfc. Jessica Lynch, were captured. Lynch later said she was erroneously praised for heroism: I'm not a hero. I'm just a survivor.

In 2004, the founder and spiritual leader of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, Ahmed Yassin, was killed in an Israeli missile strike in the Gaza Strip.

In 2006, Basque separatists who live mostly in Spain declared a cease-fire, saying they would end their long struggle for independence.

In 2010, the largest U.S. community organizing group, known as ACORN, announced it was disbanding because of declining revenues.

In 2011, an Israeli court sentenced former President Moshe Katsav to seven years in prison for rape and sexual harassment.

In 2012, a group of military officers seized control of the Mali government and ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure, even though he had planned to step down the following month.

In 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama, visiting Israel's memorial to Holocaust victims, said bigotry and hatred have no place in a civilized world.

In 2014, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Madrid against austerity measures and high unemployment, demanding improved healthcare, housing and educational facilities and an end to the Spanish government's empty promises. Many of the protesters clashed with police, with dozens of injuries reported on both sides.

Copyright 2017 by United Press International