1142 – Possible date for establishment of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) League – with the aid of Hiawatha and Deganawidah
1864 – During the American Civil War, the Confederate evacuation of Atlanta began shortly before Union troops led by William Tecumseh Sherman occupied the city, providing a much-needed victory for the North.
1888 – The mutilated body of Mary Ann Nichols was discovered in the Whitechapel district of London’s East End, and many believe she was the first victim of Jack the Ripper.
1945 – The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies
1957 – Federation of Malaya gains independence from Great Britain
1992 – An 11-day standoff in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, between government officials and an armed family headed by self-proclaimed white separatist Randy Weaver ended with his surrender; three people—Weaver’s wife, Vicki, his 14-year-old son, Sammy, and U.S. Marshal William Degan—had been killed during the siege.
1994 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Sinn Féin) declares a ceasefire in Northern Ireland
2016 – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was impeached and removed from office after the country’s Senate found her guilty of having used state bank funds to cover up a budget deficit in the run-up to her reelection in 2014.
Births & Deaths: 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash in a road tunnel in Paris
Sport: 1947 – NY Giants set season record for HRs by a club 183 (en route to 221)
Music: 1999 – “Fly” 5th studio album by Dixie Chicks is released (Grammy Award Best Country Album 2000, Billboard Album of the Year 2000)
TV & Film: 1993 – 50th Venice Film Festival: “Short Cuts” directed by Robert Altman and “Three Colors: Blue” directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski jointly awarded Golden Lion
