1864

Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman began their “March to the Sea” from Atlanta; the campaign ended on Dec. 21.

1939

President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

1966

The flight of Gemini 12 ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic after spending four days in orbit.

1969

A quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington against the Vietnam War.