1240 – Mongols under Batu Khan occupy and destroy Kiev; out of 50,000 people in the city only 2,000 survive. 1534 – Sebastián de Belalcázar, under the authority of Francisco Pizarro, occupied the Indian city of Quito in what is now Ecuador. 1865 – 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery. 1917 – Finland declared itself independent of Russia, following the Bolshevik Revolution. 1921 – Anglo-Irish Treaty signed; Ireland receives dominion status; partition creates Northern Ireland. 1973 – Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president of the United States, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew, who had resigned. 1992 – The Babri Masjid (“Mosque of Bābur”) in Ayodhya was destroyed by Hindu fundamentalists, leading to Hindu-Muslim riots throughout India. 1998 – Hugo Chávez is elected President of Venezuela. 2002 – American peace activist and former Roman Catholic priest Philip Berrigan—who saw combat duty during World War II but later, after having been ordained a priest in 1955, became one of the 20th century’s most militant pacifists—died at age 79. 2006 – NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.
Sport: 1992 – San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice catches NFL record 101st touchdown in a 27-3 win over Miami Dolphins at Candlestick Park.
Music: 1969 – 300,000 attend Altamont free concert in California, featuring The Rolling Stones. Marred by violence and four deaths.
1969 – Violence at the Altamont rock festival in Livermore, California, climaxed during the Rolling Stones’ appearance when a concertgoer was fatally stabbed by a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, which had been hired as security.
TV & Film: 2002 – “Adaption” directed by Spike Jonze, starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep premieres.
