| On this date in: |
| 1815 |
Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena, in the South Atlantic, to spend the remainder of his days in exile. |
| 1844 |
Brigham Young was chosen to lead the Mormons following the killing of Joseph Smith. |
| 1876 |
Thomas A. Edison received a patent for the mimeograph. |
| 1945 |
President Harry S. Truman signed the United Nations Charter. |
| 1945 |
The Soviet Union declared war against Japan during World War II. |
| 1963 |
Britain’s “Great Train Robbery” took place as thieves made off with 2.6 million pounds in banknotes from a train they stopped north of London. |
| 1968 |
Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach and chose Maryland Gov. Spiro T. Agnew to be his running mate. |
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| AP Photo |
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| 1988 |
U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar announced a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq. |
| 2005 |
Iran resumed work at a uranium conversion facility after suspending activities for nine months to avoid U.N. sanctions. |
| 2006 |
Sen. Joseph Lieberman lost the Connecticut Democratic primary to political newcomer Ned Lamont. (Lieberman won re-election as an independent). |
| 2008 |
The Summer Olympic Games opened in Beijing. |
| 2008 |
Former Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards admitted having had an extramarital affair. |
| 2009 |
Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the U.S. Supreme Court’s first Hispanic and third female justice. |
