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British in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
• In 1846, Elias Howe received a patent for his sewing machine.
• In 1919, New York City welcomed home Gen. John J. Pershing and 25,000 soldiers who'd served in the U.S. First Division during World War I.
• In 1932, New York's Independent City Owned Rapid Transit Railroad, later known as the IND, began service.
• In 1939, Canada declared war on Germany.
• In 1945, Vidkun Quisling was sentenced to death in Norway for collaborating with the Nazis (he was executed by firing squad in October 1945).
• In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, a black student.
• In 1963, twenty black students entered Alabama public schools following a standoff between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace.
• In 1972, at the Munich Olympics, the U.S. Olympic basketball team lost to the Soviets, 51-50, in a gold-medal match marked by controversy because officials ordered the final three seconds of the game replayed, enabling the Soviets to win; the U.S. protested, to no avail. Frank Shorter of the United States won the men's marathon.
• In 1979, four Puerto Rican nationalists imprisoned for a 1954 attack on the U.S. House of Representatives and a 1950 attempt on the life of President Harry S. Truman were freed from prison after being granted clemency by President Jimmy Carter.
• In 1987, Pope John Paul II arrived in Miami, where he was welcomed by President and Mrs. Reagan as he began a 10-day tour of the United States.
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• Ten years ago: The Bush administration raised the nationwide terror alert to yellow, its second-highest level, closed nine U.S. embassies overseas and heightened security at federal buildings and landmarks in America on the eve of the Sept. 11 anniversary. Florida's first big test of its new elections system turned into a nightmare as polling stations opened late and problems cropped up with new touchscreen voting machines. Switzerland became the 190th member of the United Nations.
• Five years ago: Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, told Congress he envisioned the withdrawal of roughly 30,000 U.S. troops by the summer of 2008, saying the surge in U.S. troops had met its military objectives "in large measure." Academy Award-winning actress Jane Wyman, 90, died in Palm Springs, Calif.

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