Today in History: Sept. 24

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787 – Second Council of Nicaea: The council assembles at the church of Hagia Sophia. 1180 – Manuel I Komnenos, the last Byzantine Emperor of the Komnenian restoration, dies. 1645 – The Battle of Rowton Heath is a Parliamentarian victory over a Royalist army commanded in person by King Charles. 1674 – Second Tantrik Coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. 1789 – The United States Congress passes the Judiciary Act, creating the office of the Attorney General and federal judiciary system and ordering the composition of the Supreme Court. 1830 – A revolutionary committee of notables forms the Provisional Government of Belgium. 1841 – The Sultanate of Brunei cedes Sarawak to the United Kingdom. 1846 – Mexican–American War: General Zachary Taylor captures Monterrey. 1852 – The first airship powered by (a steam) engine, created by Henri Giffard, travels 17 miles (27 km) from Paris to Trappes. 1853 – Admiral Despointes formally takes possession of New Caledonia in the name of France. 1869 – Gold prices plummet after President Grant orders the Treasury to sell large quantities of gold after Jay Gould and James Fisk plot to control the market. 1877 – The Battle of Shiroyama is a decisive victory of the Imperial Japanese Army over the Satsuma Rebellion. 1890 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy. 1906 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaims Devils Tower in Wyoming as the nation's first National Monument. 1906 – Racial tensions in Atlanta come to an all-time high, due to fabricated stories of sexual assault, which leads to the Atlanta Race Riot, further increasing racial segregation in the American South. 1911 – His Majesty's Airship No. 1, Britain's first rigid airship, is wrecked by strong winds before her maiden flight at Barrow-in-Furness. 1929 – Jimmy Doolittle performs the first flight without a window, proving that full instrument flying from take off to landing is possible. 1932 – Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar agree to the Poona Pact, which reserved seats in the Indian provincial legislatures for the "Depressed Classes" (Untouchables). 1935 – Earl and Weldon Bascom produce the first rodeo ever held outdoors under electric lights. 1946 – Cathay Pacific Airways is founded in Hong Kong. 1946 – The top-secret Clifford-Elsey Report on the Soviet Union is delivered to President Truman. 1948 – The Honda Motor Company is founded. 1950 – The Chinchaga fire in western Canada becomes the largest recorded fire in North American history, sending smoke all the way to Europe. 1957 – President Eisenhower sends the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation. 1960 – USS Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is launched. 1972 – Japan Airlines Flight 472 lands at Juhu Aerodrome instead of Santacruz Airport in Bombay, India. 1973 – Guinea-Bissau declares its independence from Portugal. 1975 – Dougal Haston and Doug Scott on the Southwest Face expedition become the first persons to reach the summit of Mount Everest by any of its faces, instead of using a ridge route. 1993 – The Cambodian monarchy is restored, with Norodom Sihanouk as king. 1996 – Representatives of 71 nations sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty at the United Nations. 2005 – Hurricane Rita makes landfall in the United States, devastating portions of southwestern Louisiana and extreme southeastern Texas. 2007 – Between 30,000 and 100,000 people take part in anti-government protests in Yangon, Burma, the largest in 20 years. 2009 – The G20 summit begins in Pittsburgh with 30 global leaders in attendance. 2013 – A 7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes southern Pakistan, killing at least 327 people. 2014 – The Mars Orbiter Mission makes India the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, and the first nation in the world to do so in its first attempt. 2015 – At least 1,100 people are killed and another 934 wounded after a stampede during the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.