The Senate Armed Forces Committee unanimously confirms President George H. Bush’s nomination of Army General Colin Powell as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Powell was the first African American to achieve the United States’ highest military post.

As chairman, General Powell’s greatest achievement was planning the swift U.S. victory over Iraq in 1991’s Persian Gulf War. In 1993, he retired as chairman.

On this date in 1981 Belize was granted independence from Great Britain. This came less than 9 years after officially being renamed Belize from British Honduras on June 1, 1973. British troops remained in Belize for another three years in order to provide protection from a Guatemalan threat.