1761 - The first life insurance policy in the United States was issued, in Philadelphia.
1813 - Composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany.
1868 - The Great Train Robbery took place near Marshfield, Ind., as seven members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in cash, gold and bonds.
1939 - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed a Pact of Steel committing Germany and Italy to a military alliance.
1947 - The Truman Doctrine was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey.
1969 - The lunar module of Apollo 10 separated from the command module and flew to within nine miles of the moon's surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.
1972 - The island nation of Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka with the adoption of a new constitution.
1990 - After years of conflict, North Yemen and South Yemen merged to form the Republic of Yemen.
1992 - Johnny Carson hosted NBC's Tonight Show for the last time after nearly 30 years in the job.
1998 - Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland cast ballots giving resounding approval to a Northern Ireland peace accord.
2003 - The U.N. Security Council gave the U.S. and Britain a mandate to rule Iraq, ending 13 years of economic sanctions.
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