| On this date in: |
| 1796 | Napoleon Bonaparte, the future emperor of France, married Josephine de Beauharnais. |
| 1862 | The ironclads Monitor and Virginia (formerly Merrimac) clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Va., during the Civil War. |
| 1916 | Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, N.M., killing more than a dozen people. |
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| AP Photo |
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| 1945 | U.S. B-29 bombers launched incendiary bomb attacks against Japan during World War II, causing widespread devastation. |
| 1954 | CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow critically reviewed Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy's anti-Communism campaign on "See It Now." |
| 1959 | Mattel's Barbie doll, created by Ruth Handler, made its public debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York. |
| 1975 | Work began on the Alaskan oil pipeline. |
| 1977 | About a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims invaded three buildings in Washington D.C., killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The siege ended two days later.
 | AP correspondent Jim Limbach |
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| 1981 | Dan Rather made his debut as principal anchorman of "The CBS Evening News;" he signed off for the last time on the same date in 2005. |
| 1989 | The Senate rejected President George H.W. Bush's nomination of John Tower to be defense secretary on a 53-47 vote. |
| 1992 | Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin died at age 78. |
| 1996 | Comedian George Burns died at age 100. |
| 1997 | Gangsta rapper The Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles at age 24. |
| 2004 | Convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death in Virginia. |
| 2006 | Bowing to ferocious opposition in Congress, a Dubai-owned company relinquished its quest to take over operations at U.S. ports. |
| 2007 | Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller acknowledged the FBI improperly used the Patriot Act to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. |
| 2009 | President Barack Obama lifted limits on using federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research that President George W. Bush had put in place. |
