In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr was acquitted of a mesdemeanor charge two weeks after he was found innocent of treason.
In 1812, the Russians set fire to Moscow after an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte's troops.
In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote his famous poem "The Star Spangled Banner" after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812.
In 1847, U.S. forces under General Winfield Scott took control of Mexico City.
In 1901, President William McKinley died in Buffalo, N.Y., of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became president.
In 1927, modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan died in Nice, France, when her scarf became entangled in the wheel of her sports car.
In 1940, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, providing for the first peacetime draft in U.S. history.
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"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."