1963

The body of President John F. Kennedy was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery after a funeral procession through Washington; an estimated 1 million people lined the procession route.

Also on this date:

1783

Following the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the last remaining British troops in the United States were evacuated from New York City.

1961

The USS Enterprise was commissioned; it was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and remains the longest naval vessel ever built, at 1,123 feet..

1986

The Iran-Contra affair erupted as President Ronald Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that profits from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaraguan rebels.

1999

Elian Gonzalez, a 5-year-old Cuban boy, was rescued by a pair of sport fishermen off the coast of Florida, setting off an international custody battle.

2001

As the war in Afghanistan entered its eighth week, CIA officer Johnny “Mike” Spann was killed during a prison uprising in Mazar-e-Sharif, becoming America’s first combat casualty of the conflict.

2016

Fidel Castro, who led his rebels to a victorious revolution in 1959, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of 10 U.S. presidents during his half-century of rule in Cuba, died at age 90.