On this date:
In 1783, Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities¹ with its former colonies, the United States of America.

In 1861, delegates from six southern states met in Montgomery, Alabama, to form the Confederate States of America.

In 1941, the United Service Organizations (USO) came into existence.

In 1945, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet² leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.

In 1974, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, California, by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

In 1975, more than 22,000 people died when a severe earthquake struck Guatemala and Honduras.

In 1980, Abolhassan Bani-Sadr was installed as president of Iran by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

In 1983, singer Karen Carpenter died in Downey, California, at age 32.

In 1987, pianist Liberace died at his Palm Springs, California, home at age 67.

In 1997, a civil jury in Santa Monica, California, found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

Ten years ago: Hundreds of thousands of cheering protesters filled Moscow streets to demand that the Communists surrender their stranglehold on power. Nine people were killed as guerrillas attacked a bus carrying Israeli tourists near Cairo, Egypt.

Five years ago: A standoff between the United States and China escalated³ into a trade war, with each country ordering stiff tariffs⁴ against the other.

One year ago: Gravely ill with lymphatic cancer, Jordan's King Hussein left the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and was flown home. Senators at President Clinton's impeachment⁵ trial voted to permit the showing of portions of Monica Lewinsky's videotaped deposition⁶. In a case that's drawn⁷ much controversy⁸, Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant, was shot and killed in front of his Bronx home by four plainclothes New York City police officers.