Associated Press

On Aug. 30, 1941, during World War II, German forces approaching Leningrad cut off the remaining rail line out of the city.

In 1963, the “Hot Line” communications link between Washington and Moscow went into operation.

In 1967, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1983, Guion S. Bluford Jr. became the first Black American astronaut to travel in space as he blasted off aboard the Challenger.

In 1991, Azerbaijan declared its independence, joining the stampede of republics seeking to secede from the Soviet Union.

In 2021, the United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan. Taliban fighters fired their guns into the air, celebrating victory after a 20-year insurgency.