On this day in
1541, Santiago, Chile, is destroyed by indigenous warriors, led by
Michimalonco.
***
On this day in
1609,
Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island and the indigenous people living there.
***
On this day in
1789,
Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first United States Secretary of the Treasury.
***
On this day in
1792, the
Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house where they are stored.
***
On this day in
1830, the Anti-Masonic Party convention takes place. It is one of the first American political party conventions.
***
On this day in
1857, the Mountain Meadows massacre takes place when Mormon settlers and Paiutes massacre 120 pioneers at Mountain Meadows, Utah.
***
On this day in
1893, the Parliament of the World's Religions opened in Chicago, where
Swami Vivekananda delivers his speech on fanaticism, tolerance and the truth inherent in all religions.
***
On this day in
1919, U.S. Marines invade Honduras.
***
On this day in
1961, the
World Wildlife Fund is founded.
***
On this day in
1973, a coup in Chile headed by
General Augusto Pinochet topples the democratically elected president
Salvador Allende. Pinochet exercises dictatorial power until ousted in a referendum in 1988, staying in power until 1990.
***
On this day in
1976, a group of Croatian nationalists plant a bomb in a coin locker at Grand Central Terminal. After stating political demands, they reveal the location and provide instructions for disarming the bomb. The disarming operation was not executed properly, killing one NYPD bomb squad specialist.
***
On this day in
1978,
Janet Parker is the last person to die of smallpox, in a laboratory-associated outbreak.
***
On this day in
1982, the international forces that were guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees following Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon leave Beirut. Five days later, several thousand refugees are massacred in the
Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
***
On this day in
1997, NASA's Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars.
***
On this day in
2001, two hijacked aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, while a third smashes into The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in a series of coordinated suicide attacks by members of
Al Qaeda. Altogether, 2,996 people are killed. Or, at least, that's what we're SUPPOSED to believe...
***
On this day in
2003, Swedish foreign minister
Anna Lindh is assassinated.
***
On this day in
2007, Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of All Bombs.
***
On this day in
2012, a total of 315 people are killed in two garment factory fires in Pakistan. Also on this day in 2012, the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths, including that of
J. Christopher Stevens, the United States Ambassador to Libya.
