| On this date in: |
| 1896 |
Utah was admitted to the Union as the 45th state. |
| 1948 |
Britain granted independence to Burma. |
| 1951 |
North Korean and Communist Chinese forces captured the city of Seoul during the Korean War. |
| 1960 |
Nobel Prize-winning French author Albert Camus died in a car accident at age 46. |
| 1965 |
Poet T.S. Eliot died at age 76. |
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| AP Photo |
|
| 1974 |
President Richard Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee. |
| 1995 |
The 104th Congress convened, the first entirely under Republican control since the Eisenhower era; Newt Gingrich was elected speaker of the House. |
| 1999 |
Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as governor of Minnesota. |
| 2004 |
Afghans approved a new constitution. |
| 2006 |
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke and his powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert. |
| 2007 |
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., became the first female speaker of the House. |
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| AP Photo/Susan Walsh |
|
| 2010 |
Dubai opened the world’s tallest skyscraper, the 2,717-foot gleaming glass-and-metal tower Burj Khalifa. |
