On this date in history:

In 1707, the British Parliament met for the first time.

In 1915, an estimated 25,000 women marched in New York City demanding the right to vote throughout the United States.

In 1942, the British Eighth Army launched an offensive at El Alamein in Egypt, a World War II battle that eventually swept the Germans out of North Africa.

In 1945, Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player hired by a major league team, was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and sent to their Montreal farm team. He moved up to the Dodgers in 1947 and became one of the sport's greatest stars.

In 1946, the United Nations General Assembly convened for the first time, at an auditorium in Flushing, Queens, New York City.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed Proclamation 3504, authorizing the naval blockade of Cuba following the discovery of Soviet missiles on the island.

In 1972, earthquakes killed more than 10,000 people in Nicaragua.

In 1983, suicide bomb attacks on peacekeeping troops in Beirut killed 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French soldiers. Warnings ignored, defenses left vulnerable in attack on Marines in Lebanon.

In 1987, the U.S. Senate rejected U.S. President Ronald Reagan's nomination of Judge Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court by the biggest margin in history, 58-42.

In 1989, Hungary formally declared an end to 40 years of communist rule and proclaimed itself a republic, setting the stage for creation of Western-style democracy in the Eastern Bloc state.

In 1998, Dr. Barnett Slepian, an obstetrician who performed abortions, was killed by a sniper who fired a bullet through a window of Slepian's home in Amherst, N.Y. The shooter, James Kopp, received life plus 10 years in prison in 2007 for the shooting.

In 2005, a Nigerian plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Lagos, killing all 117 people aboard.

In 2006, Panamanians voted overwhelmingly to support a proposal to expand the Panama Canal to allow larger ships to pass through.

In 2008, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told a U.S. House committee the United States is in the midst of a once-in-a-century credit tsunami that left him in a state of shocked disbelief.

In 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated the world's longest sea bridge, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, which is 34 miles long.

In 2019, the Hong Kong government officially withdrew a proposed extradition bill that led to months of protests, violence and other types of unrest in the Chinese territory.

In 2020, Bruce Springsteen released his 20th studio album, Letter to You, recorded with the E Street Band.

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