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