TODAY IN HISTORY

1952: In televised address, GOP vice presidential hopeful Richard Nixon answers charges of improper campaign financing by telling the story of his dog, Checkers.

1779: During a naval battle off the coast of England, American Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones answers a call from the enemy to surrender by declaring, “I have not yet begun to fight!”

1846: Astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle discovers the planet Neptune.