This Day in History

In Alaska

• In 1900, Capt. Frank Tuttle of the revenue cutter Bear reported that a measles epidemic had killed many Eskimos along the western coast of the Seward Peninsula.

• In 1913, the first airplane flight in Alaska was made by Captain J.V. Martin at Fairbanks.

• In 1950, the Liberty Bell reproduction was dedicated in front of the Federal Building in Juneau, now the Capitol Building.

• In 1986, the port for the Red Dog Zinc Mine near Kotzebue was dedicated.

In the nation

• In 1775, Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass.

• In 1863, the three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., ended in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreated.

• In 1890, Idaho became the 43rd state of the Union.

• In 1978, the Supreme Court, in Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, ruled the FCC was within its authority to reprimand New York radio station WBAI-FM for broadcasting George Carlin's "Filthy Words" comedy routine.

• In 1998, residents in northeastern Florida continued to evacuate because of wildfires closing in from three directions.

• In 2003, the U.S. put a $25 million bounty on Saddam Hussein.

• In 2007, President Bush refused to rule out an eventual pardon for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby after already commuting his prison sentence in the CIA leak case.

In the world

• In 1608, the city of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain.

• In 1898, the U.S. Navy defeated a Spanish fleet in the harbor at Santiago, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War.

• In 1944, during World War II, Soviet forces recaptured Minsk.

• In 1962, Algeria became independent after 132 years of French rule.

• In 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.

• In 1998, President Clinton concluded his Far East tour in Hong Kong, where he challenged leaders to set the pace for rescuing Asia from the region's financial crisis. The 12th World AIDS Conference ended in Geneva.

• In 2007, Japan's defense minister (Fumio Kyuma) resigned after drawing furious criticism for suggesting the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were inevitable. The Alinghi team from Switzerland successfully defended sailing's coveted America's Cup, beating Emirates Team New Zealand 5-2.