Associated Press

On July 11, 1798, the U.S. Marine Corps was formally reestablished by a congressional act that also created the U.S. Marine Band.

In 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. (Hamilton died the next day.)

In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower, chimed for the first time.

In 1914, Babe Ruth made his Major League baseball debut, pitching the Boston Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over Cleveland.

In 1960, Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” was published.

In 1972, the World Chess Championship opened as Bobby Fischer of the U.S. and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union began play in Reykjavik, Iceland.