1866

Cyrus W. Field finished laying out the first successful underwater telegraph cable between North America and Europe.

1909

During the first official test of the U.S. Army’s first airplane, Orville Wright flew himself and a passenger, Lt. Frank Lahm, above Fort Myer, Virginia, for one hour and 12 minutes.

1953

The Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.

1974

The House Judiciary Committee voted 27-11 to adopt the first of three articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon, charging he had personally engaged in a course of conduct designed to obstruct justice in the Watergate case.

1981

6-year-old Adam Walsh was abducted from a department store in Hollywood, Fla., and was later murdered.

1996

Terror struck the Atlanta Olympics as a pipe bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park, directly killing one person and injuring 111. (Anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph later pleaded guilty to the bombing, exonerating security guard Richard Jewell, who had been wrongly suspected.)

Birthdays

Comedian Bill Engvall is 66. Comedian Maya Rudolph is 51.