1637- Under English Captain John Mason, a Puritan and Mohegan army attacked a Pequot village in Connecticut, burning or massacring over 500 Indian women, men, and children.
1782- George Washington charged American Colonel William Crawford for attacking local Indians who sided with the British in the American Revolution.
1864- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs an act creating the Montana Territory to try to create new free territories during the Civil War.
1865- Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, who was charged with keeping the Mississippi River open to Southerners, surrenders on this day.
1897- Irish writer Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, appeared in London's bookstores.
1907- On this day, the actor John Wayne is born, he was in many Western movies.
1927- Edsel and his father, Henry Ford, drove the fifteen millionth Model T Ford out of their factory, it was the last day of production.
1960- During a meeting, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Henry Cabot Lodge, accused the Soviet Union of engaging in espionage at the U.S. embassy in Moscow for years.
2005- A U.S. Marine general drops murder charges against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano after being accused of a premeditated murder of two suspected Iraqi insurgents, this crime is punishable by death.
2008- At the age of 73, the film director, producer and actor Sidney Pollack died of cancer. His hits included Tootsie, Out of Africa and The Firm.
