1780 – During the American revolution, Benedict Arnold, an American general, offers to hand over West Point, an American fort, to the British in return for a large sum of money. The plot is foiled and Arnold flees to the enemy side and leads British troops. He later moves to England and dies in 1801. His name becomes synonymous with the word “traitor.”
1792 – The monarchy is abolished in revolutionary France. The Legislative Assembly votes to eliminate the monarchy and establish the First Republic.
1942 – The B-29 Superfortress bomber makes its debut flight in Seattle. It was the largest bomber used in WWII by any nation. The bomber is used against Japanese forces in the South Pacific and also conducted a long series of bombing raids against Tokyo. The B-29’s most lethal missions came in August 1945 when they dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
1999 – An earthquake in Taiwan kills thousands of people, causes billions of dollars in damage, and leaves an estimated 100,000 homeless.
