On this day :

1884 Washington Monument completed, 1777 Whitemarsh skirmishes turn in Americans favor, 1976 Deaf stuntwoman Kitty ONeil sets womens landspeed record, 1865 13th Amendment ratified, 1987 Protests against Soviet treatment of Jews take place in Washington and Moscow, 1868 Train robbers reach the end of the line, 1917 Ships explode in Canadian harbor, 1907 The Monongah coal mine disaster, 1917 The Great Halifax Explosion, 1921 Irish Free State declared, 2005 Brokeback Mountain premieres, 1933 Ulysses is ruled not obscene, 1969 The Altamont Festival brings the 1960s to a violent end, 1749 FrenchCanadian explorer La Verendrye dies, 1884 Monument to Washington completed, 1992 Jerry Rice scores recordbreaking touchdown, 1961 Operation Farm Gate combat missions authorized, 1972 Fighting continues in South Vietnam while negotiators talk in Paris, 1917 Munitions ship explodes in Halifax, 1941 Roosevelt to Japanese emperor Prevent further death and destruction,