This Day in History

1906: The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act are both passed.
1934: In the "Night of the Long Knives," German dictator Adolf Hitler has Ernst Röhm and other SA dissidents murdered.
1960: The independent Congo (now Zaire) is proclaimed by King Baudouin of Belgium , the former colonial power.
1966: NOW (the National Organization for Women) is founded.
1971: The 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, is ratified. The Supreme Court upholds the right of the New York Times and Washington Post to publish the classified Pentagon Papers, on U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Three Soviet cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 10 die when there is a loss of pressurization during reentry.
1977: The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), an alliance of nations to provide defense and economic cooperation in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific area, is disbanded.
1982: The proposed Equal Rights Amendment dies when its ratification deadline passes.
1999: The independent counsel statute lapsed, and the power to appoint special counsels reverts to the attorney general.
2004: After nearly 7 years in space, the Cassini spacecraft becomes the first ever to orbit the planet Saturn. For the first time in four years, the Federal Reserve raises interest rates in an attempt to curb inflation.