Today In History

In 1782: Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States

In 1893: A jury in New Bedford, Mass., found Lizzie Borden innocent of the ax murders of her father and stepmother.

In 1898: During the Spanish-American War, the U.S. cruiser Charleston captured the island of Guam.

In 1947: Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was shot dead at the Beverly Hills, Calif., mansion of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, apparently at the order of mob associates.

In 1967: boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted of refusing to be drafted. (Ali’s conviction was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court.)