This day in history

On this date: Aug. 14

1248 - The rebuilding of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, began after being destroyed by fire.

1592 - John Davis sighted the what was later named Falkland Islands.

1720 - In Nebraska, Pawnees and Otoes attacked the Spanish Villasur Expedition. The Spanish defeat makred the end of their influence on the central Great Plains.

1805 - A peace treaty between the U.S. and Tunis was signed on board the USS Constitution.

1848 - The Oregon Territory was established.

1880 - The Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany was completed after 632 years of rebuilding.

1888 - A patent for the electric meter was granted to Oliver B. Shallenberger.

1896 - Gold was discovered in Canada’s Yukon Territory. Within the next year more than 30,000 people rushed to the area to look for gold.

1900 - An international force, consisting of eight nations, lifted the siege of Peking. It was the end to the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreigners.

1917 - China declared war on Germany and Austria during World War I.

1919 - About 1 million tons of ice and rock broke off of a glacier near Mont Blanc, France. Nine people were killed in the incident.

1935 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. The act created unemployment insurance and pension plans for the elderly.

1936 - The first basketball competition was held at the Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. The U.S. defeated Canada, 19-8.

1941 - The U.S. Congress appropriated the funds to construct the Pentagon (approximately $83 million). The building was the new home of the U.S. War Department.

1941 - U.S. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter. The charter was a statement of principles that renounced aggression.

1944 - The federal government allowed the manufacture of certain domestic appliances to resume on a limited basis.

1945 - It was announced by U.S. President Truman that Japan had surrendered unconditionally. The surrender ended World War II.

1947 - Pakistan became independent from British rule.

1953 - The whiffle ball was invented.

1959 - The first meeting was held to organize the American Football League.

1962 - A U.S. mail truck was held up in Plymouth, MA. The robbers got away with more that $1.5 million dollars.

1969 - British troops arrived in Northern Ireland to intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics.

1971 - Bahrain declared indendence from Britain.

1973 - The U.S. bombing of Cambodia ended. The halt marked the official end to 12 years of combat in Indochina by the U.S.

1976 - A charity softball game began for the Community General Hospital in Monticello, NY. The game was eventually called off due to weather after 30 hours. The final score was Gager’s Diner’s 491 to Bend ‘n Elbow Tavern’s 467.

1980 - People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was incorporated.

1984 - Patricia Ann Reagan and Paul Grilley were married on a movie set in California.

1986 - U.S. officials announced that a U.S. Drug Enforcement agent had been abducted, interrogated and tortured by Mexican police.

1987 - Mark McGwire set the record for major league home runs by a rookie when he connected for his 49th home run of the season.

1992 - The U.S. announced that emergency airlifts of food to Somalia would begin. The action was being taken to stop mass deaths due to starvation.

1995 - Shannon Faulkner became the first female cadet in the history of The Citadel, South Carolina’s state military college. She quit the school less than a week later.

1997 - William Friedkin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1998 - A U.S. federal appeals court in Richmond, VA, ruled that the Food and Drug Administration had no authority to regulate tobacco. The FDA had established rules to make it harder for minors to buy cigarettes.

2000 - Valujet was ordered to pay $11 million in fines and restitution for hazardous waste violations in the crash that killed 110 people in 1996.

2000 - It was announced that Charles Grodin would be joining CBS’ “60 Minutes II” as a commentator.

2015 - In Havana, Cuba, the U.S. Embassy was re-opened after being closed 54 years earlier.