In 1504, Michelangelo’s towering marble statue of David was unveiled to the public in Florence, Italy.

In 1892, an early version of “The Pledge of Allegiance,” written by Francis Bellamy, appeared in “The Youth’s Companion.”

In 1900, Galveston, Texas, was struck by a hurricane that killed an estimated 8,000 people.

In 1920, New York-to-San Francisco air mail service was inaugurated.

In 1930, Scotch cellophane tape made its debut as a sample of the tape was shipped to a Chicago firm which specialized in wrapping bakery goods in cellophane. The comic strip “Blondie,” created by Chic Young, was first published.

In 1941, the 900-day Siege of Leningrad by German forces began during World War II.

In 1951, a peace treaty with Japan was signed by 49 nations in San Francisco.

In 1960, American runner Wilma Rudolph won the third of her three gold medals at the Rome Olympics as she and teammates Barbara Jones, Martha Hudson and Lucinda Williams prevailed in the women’s 4 x 100-meter relay.

In 1974, President Gerald R. Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former President Richard Nixon.

In 1994, a USAir Boeing 737 crashed into a ravine as it was approaching Pittsburgh International Airport, killing all 132 people on board.

Ten years ago: World leaders ended the United Nations Millennium Summit with a pledge to solve humankind’s problems, including poverty, war, AIDS, pollution and human rights abuses. The head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Kevin Gover, a Pawnee Indian, apologized for the federal agency’s “legacy of racism and inhumanity” that included massacres, forced relocations of tribes and attempts to wipe out Indian cultures.

Five years ago: Congress hastened to provide an additional $51.8 billion for relief and recovery from Hurricane Katrina; President George W. Bush pledged to make it “easy and simple as possible” for uncounted, uprooted storm victims to collect food stamps and other government benefits. Tropical Storm Ophelia strengthened into a hurricane as it stalled 70 miles off the northeast Florida coast. (Ophelia ended up brushing the North Carolina Outer Banks.)

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