(Continued from page 30)

• In 1910, Chicago's original Comiskey Park held its opening day under the name White Sox Park. (The home team lost to the St. Louis Browns, 2-0.)
• In 1942, the First Battle of El Alamein began during World War II. Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra and vocalist Frank Sinatra recorded "There Are Such Things" in New York for Victor Records.
• In 1946, the United States exploded a 20-kiloton atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.
• In 1961, Diana, the princess of Wales, was born in Sandringham, England. (She died in a 1997 car crash in Paris at age 36.)
• In 1962, the African nations of Burundi and Rwanda became independent of Belgium.
• In 1972, the rock musical "Hair" closed on Broadway.
• In 1980, "O Canada" was proclaimed the national anthem of Canada.
• In 1987, President Ronald Reagan nominated federal appeals court judge Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court, setting off a tempestuous confirmation process that ended with Bork's rejection by the Senate.
• In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated federal appeals court judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, beginning an ultimately successful confirmation process marked by allegations of sexual harassment. The Warsaw Pact formally disbanded. Actor Michael Landon, 54, died in Malibu, Calif.
• In 2004, actor Marlon Brando died in Los Angeles at age 80.
•

• Ten years ago: The world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, the International Criminal Court, came into existence. A U.S. airstrike against several villages in Afghanistan killed 48 civilians, according to Afghan officials (a U.S. investigation confirmed 34 deaths). A Russian passenger jet collided with a cargo plane over southern Germany, killing all 69 people on the Russian plane and the two cargo jet pilots. Chile's Supreme Court ruled that former dictator General Augusto Pinochet was suffering from dementia and dropped all charges against him for human rights violations during his regime.
• Five years ago: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kennebunkport, Maine, for an overnight visit at the Bush family estate and talks with President George W. Bush. Princes William and Harry celebrated the life of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 46th birthday with a concert they'd organized at London's Wembley Stadium. Golfer Cristie Kerr won the U.S. Women's Open.
• One year ago: Leon Panetta took over as U.S. secretary of defense after 2½

(Continued on page 32)