1968: Commercial air flights between the United States and the USSR, the Soviet Union, began.

1948: John J. Pershing, a military commander whose brilliant career earned him the title General of the Armies of the United States, died. The first general awarded the title since George Washington, Pershing was given a hero's burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Pershing was born in Laclede, Missouri, on September 13, 1860, the first of six children. His mother taught him at home, helping to inspire in him a love of learning. He realized his dream of attaining a formal college education when he won a scholarship to the U.S. Military Academy. (Source: Library of Congress)