On This Day, Sept. 7: U.S. agrees to transfer control of Panama Canal to Panama

Sept. 7 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1822, Brazil declared independence from Portugal.

In 1892, James Corbett knocked out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round of a prizefight at New Orleans, the first major fight under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.

In 1901, the Boxer Rebellion in China ended with the Boxer Protocol, a peace agreement between China and other world powers.

In 1926, Hollywood studios closed for the day in honor of the funeral of Rudolph Valentino, the silent movie superstar who had died after ulcer surgery.

In 1940, Nazi Germany launched the London blitz, bombings that Adolf Hitler believed would soften Britain for invasion. The invasion never materialized.

In 1943, a fire swept through the Gulf Hotel in Houston, killing 55 men, many of whom were homeless.

In 1963, the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in Canton, Ohio. The inaugural inductees included George Halas and Harold "Red" Grange.

File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI

In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos signed a treaty agreeing to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama at the end of the 20th century.

In 1986, Desmond Tutu was installed as the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, becoming first black titular head of South Africa's fourth-largest Christian church.

In 1992, 12 people were killed when a twin-engine plane carrying skydivers crashed in a soybean field in Hinckley, Ill.

In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was hospitalized after being shot four times in Las Vegas. Shakur died six days later.

File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

In 2007, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego agreed to pay almost $200 million to 144 people who said they were sexually abused by members of the clergy.

In 2008, the U.S. government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, giant mortgage firms that owned or backed $5.3 trillion in mortgages, after they failed to properly account for losses, using questionable accounting methods to push them into the future so they wouldn't need to be reported until the next year.

In 2009, the British government convicted three men of plotting to blow up seven trans-Atlantic flights, smuggling explosives aboard in soft drink bottles, a plan that led to tighter airline regulations on carry-on bottles of liquid.

In 2011, a plane crash near the Russian city of Yaroslavl killed 44 people, including almost the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Kontinental Hockey League team. Several of the victims had ties to North America's National Hockey League. A member of the aircraft's crew was the only survivor.

In 2013, Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 Olympics.

In 2017, an 8.1-magnitude earthquake struck outside Pijijiapan, Mexico, in Chiapas state, killing nearly 100 people. It was the strongest recorded temblor in a century.