Oct. 19 (UPI) -- On this date in history:
In 1781, Britain's Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered with more than 7,000 troops to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va., effectively ending the American War of Independence and guaranteeing the colonialists freedom from the crown.
In 1789, John Jay, one of the founding fathers and president of the Continental Congress, was sworn in as first chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
In 1812, Napoleon's beaten French army began its long, disastrous retreat from Moscow.
In 1964, under the leadership of new Communist Party Chief Leonid Brezhnev, the Kremlin moved toward patching up its grievances with Red China.
