On this date in

1630 The village of Shawmut in Massachusetts changed its name to Boston.

1776 American forces defeated the British at the Battle of Harlem Heights.

1810 Mexico's war of independence against Spain began.

1875 Business leader J.C. Penney was born.

1893 The Cherokee Strip land run, the largest one in U.S. history, began; film director Alexander Korda was born.

1908 William Durant began General Motors.

1919 Congress incorporated the American Legion.

1920 A bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front of the J.P. Morgan Building in New York City, killing 38 people and injuring 400 others.

1940 Rep. Sam Rayburn was elected Speaker of the U.S. House. He would hold this position for 17 years, longer than anyone else in history.

1955 Argentine President Juan Peron was deposed in a coup.

1963 Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo and the Federation of Malaya merged to form Malaysia.

1972 "The Bob Newhart Show" television series premiered.

1982 Lebanese militia killed at least 700 civilians in a massacre at the Sabra and Shatilia refugee camps.

1987 The Montreal Protocol, designed to reduce emissions and thus protect the ozone layer, was signed.

1988 Tom Browning of the Cincinnati Reds pitched a perfect game in which the Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0.

2004 Hurricane Ivan, which at its peak was larger than the state of Texas, struck the Gulf Coast.