On this day in history
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1533: Henry VIII, who divorced his wife and became head of the Church of England, was excommunicated from the Catholic Church by Pope Clement VII.
1798: The U.S. Marine Corps was formally re-established. The Marines were first commissioned by the Continental Congress on Nov. 10, 1775.
1804: The United States' first secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, was killed by Vice President Aaron Burr in a duel.
1914: Babe Ruth debuted in the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox.
1934: The first appointments to the newly created Federal Communications Commission were made.
1934: U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first American chief executive to travel through the Panama Canal while in office.
1977: The Medal of Freedom was awarded posthumously to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a White House ceremony.
1985: Nolan Ryan became the first major league pitcher to earn 4,000 strikeouts in a career.
1987: Bo Jackson signed a contract to play football for the L.A. Raiders for five years. He also continued to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals.
1995: Full diplomatic relations were established between the United States and Vietnam.
2008: Apple released the iPhone 3G.
