(1777) A flag is chosen for 13 colonies now united as a nation
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Thirteen white stars representing each state are united on a field of blue, and 13 alternating stripes of red and white symbolize the former colonies that broke away from British rule. The American Flag Day will commemorate the day the Second Continental Congress chose a flag for the states newly united.. |
(1807) Napoleon’s French troops rout Russia
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The armies of France and Russia clash at the Battle of Friedland, the French emerging victorious, catapulting their commander Napoleon Bonaparte to arguably the height of his European domination. Russia will now be compelled to align with France against one of their last enemies, Great Britain. . |
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(1951) America’s first commercial computer officially debuts
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The Universal Automatic Computer, or UNIVAC I, is first used by the US Census Bureau in Maryland. Forty-six of these computers, each the size of a one-car garage, will be built by Remington Rand, and sold for about $1 million each to the US military, US Steel, and the Atomic Energy Commission among others. . |
(1985) Hezbollah hijackers commandeer TWA Flight 847
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A Boeing 727 carrying 147 passengers and crew from Athens to San Diego is hijacked shortly after takeoff by Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists demanding the release of 700 Shiite Muslims from Israeli custody. The hijacking of TWA Flight 847 will last for more than two weeks.. |
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