Today in History: September 25

1396

The last great Christian crusade, led jointly by John the Fearless of Nevers and King Sigismund of Hungary, ends in disaster at the hands of Sultan Bayezid I's Ottoman army at Nicopolis.

1598

In Sweden, King Sigismund is defeated at Stangebro by his uncle Charles.

1775

British troops capture Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga, when he and a handful of Americans try to invade Canada.

1789

Congress proposes 12 new amendments to the Constitution.

1804

The 12th Amendment is ratified, changing the procedure of choosing the president and vice-president.

1846

American General Zachary Taylor's forces capture Monterey, Mexico.

1909

The first National Aeronautic Show opens at Madison Square Garden.

1915

An allied offensive is launched in France against the German Army.

1918

Brazil declares war on Austria.

1937

German Chancellor Adolf Hitler meets with Italian Premier Benito Mussolini in Munich.

1938

President Franklin Roosevelt urges negotiations between Hitler and Czech President Edvard Benes over the Sudetenland.

1942

The War Labor Board orders equal pay for women in the United States.

1943

The Red Army retakes Smolensk from the Germans who are retreating to the Dnieper River in the Soviet Union.

1959

President Dwight Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev begin Camp David talks.

1974

Scientists warn that continued use of aerosol sprays will cause ozone depletion, which will lead to an increased risk of skin cancer and global weather changes.

1981

Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice, is sworn in.

1983

Maze Prison escape, County Antrim, Northern Ireland; 38 IRA prisoners escape in the largest prison breakout in British history; known among Irish republicans as the Great Escape.

1992

NASA launches Mars Observer probe; it fails 11 months later.

1996

Ireland's last Magdalene laundry closes; begun as asylums to rehabilitate "fallen women," they increasingly took on prison-like qualities.

2008

China launches Shenzhou 7 spacecraft; crew performs China's first extra-vehicular activity (EVA).

2009

US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy jointly accuse Iran of building a secrecy nuclear enrichment facility.