WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Today is Wednesday, September 8, the 251st day of 2010. There are 114 days left in the year.

1380 _ Russians defeat Tatars at Kulikovo, beginning decline of Tatars

1664 _ Dutch surrender New Amsterdam (N.Y.) to 300 English soldiers

1900 _ 6,000 killed when a hurricane and tidal wave destroys Galveston, Texas, most deadly in U.S. history

1930 _ First appearance of the comic strip ``Blondie"

1939 _ FDR declares ``limited national emergency" due to war in Europe

1944 _ First V-2 rocket lands in Britain

1945 _ U.S. invades Japanese-held Korea

1951 _ Japan signs treaty of peace with 48 countries (S.F.)

1952 _ Ernest Hemingway's ``Old Man and the Sea" published

1974 _ President Gerald Ford pardons former President R. Nixon of all federal crimes