1784: Grigory Shelikhov, a Russian fur trader, founded the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska on Kodiak Island.
1900: Some 2,000 U.S. Marines joined with European forces to capture Beijing, ending the Boxer Rebellion against the Western presence in China.
1945: U.S. President Harry Truman announced that Japan had accepted terms for unconditional surrender, ending World War II.
1966: The unmanned U.S. Orbiter 1 spacecraft began orbiting the moon.
1994: The notorious international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal was captured in Sudan. He was extradited to France the next day.
2003: A massive power failure spread through Ohio, Michigan, the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, leaving 50 million people in eight states and the province of Ontario without electricity for as long as two days.
2003: The French health ministry said sweltering heat in Europe could be responsible for as many as 3,000 deaths in France.
2004: In the US, Hurricane Charley raked the coast of the Carolinas and moved back ashore at Georgetown, S.C., with 75 mph winds. Meanwhile, Florida, hard hit the day before, searched for more victims and assessed damage.
2004: At least 115 people were reported killed by Typhoon Rananim, the 14th typhoon to hit China this year.
2005: Authorities say the crash of a Helios Airways plane in Greece with 121 people aboard could have been caused by a sudden drop in cabin pressure. A report from the scene said there were no survivors.
