On This Day…

1812 Great Fire of Moscow begins as Napoleon approaches the city and retreating Russians burn it – fire continues to burn for five days.

1849 Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov, known chiefly for his development of the concept of the conditioned reflex, was born.

1901 Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in as the youngest man to serve as US President, after William McKinley finally dies after an anarchist shoots him in Buffalo.

1923 Miguel Primo de Rivera becomes dictator of Spain.

1964 Walt Disney awarded Medal of Freedom at White House

1975 Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint, was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

2001 Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks.

2009 American dancer and actor Patrick Swayze, known for his performances in Dirty Dancing (1987) and Ghost (1990), died in Los Angeles after battling pancreatic cancer.

2009 David Attenborough and Prince William officially open the Darwin Centre at the National History Museum London, in what is the Museum’s most significant expansion since 1881.