USSR agrees to leave Afghanistan

On April 14, 1988, the USSR signed the Geneva Accords, pledging to withdraw its military forces from Afghanistan. Soviet troops had been in the country since the USSR invaded in 1979 in order to support the communist government there. In addition to setting a timetable for Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Geneva Accords further defined the terms of relations between the government of Pakistan and the communist government of Afghanistan, providing for the return of prisoners and non-interference in the affairs of the other nation.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Amsterdam Treaty signed, broadening scope of EU

On October 2, 1997, European Union delegates signed the Amsterdam Treaty, which broadened the scope of the international organization. It amended previous EU treaties to expand the power of the EU Parliament, start the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and prepare for the influx of post-Communist countries in Eastern Europe.

Thurgood Marshall becomes first African-American Supreme Court justice

On October 2, 1967, civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African-American Supreme Court justice Learn more about Marshall and his career from the Library of Congress.