This Day in History

1777: The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation.
1864: During the Civil War, Union general William Tecumseh Sherman burns nearly the entire city of Atlanta, Georgia before beginning his march to the sea.
1889: In Brazil, a bloodless revolution forces the banishment of the emperor and the creation of a republic.
1907: The first successful daily comic strip, Mr. A. Mutt by Bud Fisher (later retitled Mutt and Jeff), appears in the San Francisco Chronicle.
1920: The first meeting of the League of Nations is held in Geneva, Switzerland with 42 nations represented.
1945: A bipartisan congressional committee to determine whether negligence had contributed to the success of the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor opens its investigation.
1956: The first UN peacekeeping forces (UNEF) ever deployed arrive in Egypt to supervise agreements made to resolve the Suez crisis.
1935: The Philippines' commonwealth status, a stage on the way to full independence, is formally established with Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina as the first president.
1943: During World War II, the United States decisively wins the Battle of Guadalcanal over the Japanese.
1969: Anti-Vietnam War demonstrations reach a peak with 250,000 protesters marching on Washington, D.C.
1984: Baby Fae, born with a severe heart defect, dies weeks after receiving a baboon heart transplant.
1999: The United States and China sign a landmark pact liberalizing their trade relations.
2003: Terrorists using truck bombs strike two synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey, killing more than two dozen and wounding at least 250.