On this day in history

331: Alexander the Great decisively shatters King Darius III's Persian army at Gaugamela (Arbela), in a tactical masterstroke that leaves him master of the Persian Empire.
1791: In Paris, the National Legislative Assembly holds its first meeting.
1890: Yosemite National Park is dedicated in California.
1908: The Ford Model T, the first car for millions of Americans, hits the market. Over 15 million Model Ts are eventually sold, all of them black.
1942: The German Army grinds to a complete halt within the city of Stalingrad.
1946: Eleven Nazi war criminals are sentenced to be hanged at Nuremberg trials.
1949: Mao Zedong establishes the People's Republic of China.
1957: "In God We Trust" appears on US paper currency as an act to distinguish the U.S. from the officially atheist USSR; the motto had appeared on coins at various times since 1864.
1960: Nigeria becomes independent from the U.K.
1962: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson debuts; Carson remains the host until 1992.
1964: The first Free Speech Movement protest erupts spontaneously on the University of California, Berkeley campus. Students demanded an end to the ban of on-campus political activities.
1964: Japanese bullet trains begin high-speed rail transit between Tokyo and Osaka.
1971: Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida, the second of Disney's "Magic Kingdoms."
1971: First CT or CAT brain scan performed, at Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon, London.
1975: Legendary boxing match: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in the "Thrilla in Manila."
1979: U.S. returns sovereignty of the Panama Canal to Panama.
1982: First compact disc player released by Sony.
1989: Denmark introduces the world's first "civil union" law granting same-sex couples certain legal rights and responsibilities but stopping short of recognizing same-sex marriages.

Source: HistoryNet.com