On Sept. 28, 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne.
In 1787 Congress voted to send the just-completed Constitution of the United States to state legislatures for approval.
In 1850 flogging was abolished as a form of punishment in the U.S. Navy.
In 1887 Avery Brundage, who would become the longtime (1952-72) president of the International Olympic Committee, was born in Detroit.
In 1901 television host Ed Sullivan was born in New York.
In 1924 two Army planes landed in Seattle after completing the first round-the-world flight in 175 days. Also in 1924 actor Marcello Mastroianni was born in Fontana Liri, Italy.
In 1935 blues singer Koko Taylor was born in Memphis. Also in 1935 actress Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris.
In 1939, during World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union agreed on a plan to partition Poland.
In 1974 First Lady Betty Ford underwent a mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, following discovery of a cancerous lump in her breast.
In 1989 deposed Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos died in exile in Honolulu; he was 72.
In 1991 jazz great Miles Davis died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 65.
In 1995 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat signed an accord to transfer much of the West Bank to the control of its Arab residents.
In 2000, capping a 12-year battle, the government approved use of the abortion pill RU-486. Also in 2000 Ariel Sharon, leader of Israel’s hard-line opposition, sparked new Israeli-Palestinian clashes by touring the Temple Mount.
In 2002 Iraq rejected a U.S.-British plan for the United Nations to force President Saddam Hussein to disarm and open his palaces for weapons searches. Also in 2002 Rep. Patsy Mink, a 12-term Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, died in Honolulu; she was 74.
In 2003 film director Elia Kazan died in New York; he was 94. Also in 2003 pioneering African-American tennis champion Althea Gibson died in East Orange, N.J.; she was 76.
In 2004 oil prices broke through the $50-a-barrel barrier for the first time as light crude closed at $49.90 after rising as high as $50.47.
