TODAY IN HISTORY - SEPTEMBER 2ND

1666 – The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days, destroying 10,000 buildings including St Paul's Cathedral.

1789 – The United States Department of the Treasury is founded.

1833 – Oberlin College is founded by John Jay Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart in Oberlin, Ohio.

1850 – Albert Spalding, American baseball player, manager, and businessman, co-founded the Spalding Sporting Goods Company (d. 1915) is born.

1859 – A solar super storm affects electrical telegraph service.

1862 – American Civil War: United States President Abraham Lincoln reluctantly restores Union General George B. McClellan to full command after General John Pope's disastrous defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

1885 – Rock Springs massacre: In Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 white miners, who are struggling to unionize so they could strike for better wages and work conditions, attack their Chinese fellow workers killing 28, wounding 15 and forcing several hundred more out of town.

1901 – Adolph Rupp, American basketball player and coach (d. 1977) is born.

1901 – Vice President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt utters the famous phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair.

1912 – Arthur Rose Eldred is awarded the first Eagle Scout award of the Boy Scouts of America.

1932 – Arnold Greenberg, American businessman, co-founded Snapple (d. 2012) is born.

1935 – The 1935 Labor Day hurricane hits the Florida Keys, killing 423.

1937 – Pierre de Coubertin, French historian and educator, founded the International Olympic Committee (b. 1863) dies.

1948 – Terry Bradshaw, American football player, sportscaster, and actor is born.

1952 – Jimmy Connors, American tennis player, coach, and sportscaster is born.

1962 – William Wilkerson, American businessman, founded The Hollywood Reporter and the Flamingo Hotel (b. 1890) dies.

1963 – CBS Evening News becomes U.S. network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.

1970 – NASA announces the cancellation of two Apollo missions to the Moon, Apollo 15 (the designation is re-used by a later mission), and Apollo 19.

1973 – J. R. R. Tolkien, English novelist, short story writer, poet, and philologist (b. 1892) dies.