September 5th, 2008

Today in History

1960:
Muhammad Ali wins the gold medal in boxing at the Rome Olympic Games.

1937:
Spanish Civil War: The fall of Llanes.

1666:
Great Fire of London ends: A large fire in London burns out after three days. 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral are destroyed, but only 16 people are known to have died.

1862:
American Civil War: In the Confederacy's first invasion of the North, General Robert E. Lee leads 55,000 men of the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River at White's Ford near Leesburg, Virginia, into Maryland.

1984:
1984 - Western Australia becomes the last Australian state to abolish capital punishment.