1588 - Battle of Gravelines ends - Defeated by the English during an invasion attempt, the surviving parts of the Spanish Armada begin to sail home. Only 67 of the original 130 ships will later reach Spain and most of these will be in poor condition.
1786 - Mont BlancThis article is about the Alpine mountain. For other uses, see Mont Blanc (disambiguation Mont Blanc ( Fr. white mountain") or Monte Bianco ( It. in the Alps, is the highest mountain of Western Europe (the highest in Europe being Mount Elbrus); its height was climbed for the first time by Dr. Michael-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat .
1844Events January 15 University of Notre Dame receives its charter from Indiana. February 27 The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti. February 28 A gun on the USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing two United - During a meeting held in Nauvoo, the Quorum of Twelve , headed by Brigham YoungNSHC, depicts the LDS prophet as he appeared during most of his tenure as leader of the church. Brigham Young ( June 1, 1801 August 29, 1877) was the second prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church; see also Mor, is created as the leading body of the MormonThe term Mormon technically refers to all followers of Mormonism or the Latter Day Saint movement, although colloquially the term usually refers to members of the most prominent Mormon group, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Church.
1863Events January-March January 1 Abraham Lincoln delivers the Emancipation Proclamation during the second year of the American Civil War. January 1 The first claim under the Homestead Act is made for a farm in Nebraska January 8 Ground is broken in Sacramen - American Civil WarThe American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the northern states, popularly referred to as "the U. the Union," " the North," or "the Yankees"; and the seceding southern states, commonly referred to as "the Confederat: Following his defeat in the Battle of GettysburgThe Battle of Gettysburg ( July 1- 3, 1863), which took place in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was the largest battle ever conducted in the Western Hemisphere, and is generally considered to be the turning point of the American Civil Wa, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (Davis will refuse the request upon receipt).
1942 - World War II: In Washington, DC, six German would-be saboteurs are executed (two others were cooperative and received life imprisonment instead).
1942- Quit India resolution was passed by the Bombay session of the AICC, which led to the start of a historical civil disobidience movement across India
1945 - World War II - The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria with more than 1 million troops. This action prompts Emperor Hirohito to plead with the war council to reconsider surrender.
1945 - The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States, and that nation becomes the first to join the new international organization.
1962 - Elizabeth Ann Duncan becomes the last woman to be executed in the United States prior to the reintroduction of capital punishment in 1977. She and the two men she hired to murder her pregnant daughter-in-law in 1958 died in San Quentin's gas chamber.