| On this date in: |
| 1815 |
Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated for the second time. |
| 1868 |
Arkansas was re-admitted to the Union. |
| 1870 |
Congress created the Department of Justice. |
| 1938 |
Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling of Germany in the first round of their rematch in New York City’s Yankee Stadium. |
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| AP Photo |
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| 1940 |
France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris during World War II. |
| 1941 |
Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II. |
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| AP Photo |
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| 1944 |
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the GI Bill of Rights, authorizing a broad package of benefits for World War II veterans. |
| 1945 |
The World War II battle for Okinawa ended; 12,520 Americans and 110,000 Japanese were killed in the 83-day campaign. |
| 1969 |
Singer-actress Judy Garland died at age 47. |
| 1970 |
President Richard Nixon signed a measure lowering the voting age to 18. |
| 1977 |
Former Attorney General John N. Mitchell began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up. |
| 1981 |
Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to killing rock musician John Lennon. |
| 1986 |
Diego Maradona scored both goals in Argentina’s 2-1 World Cup quarterfinal victory over England in Mexico City – including one that he punched in, unseen by the referee. When asked about the play later, Maradona said, “It was the hand of God.” |
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| AP Photo/Carlo Fumagalli |
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| 1992 |
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that hate-crime laws that ban cross-burning and similar expressions of racial bias violate free-speech rights. |
| 1993 |
Former first lady Pat Nixon died at age 81. |
| 2009 |
Jon and Kate Gosselin, stars of the reality TV series “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” announced plans to divorce. |
| 2011 |
President Barack Obama announced he would pull home 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by the following summer. |
