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On December 6, 1534, the city was founded by Sebastián de Benalcázar.
On May 24, 1822, a troop led by Antonio
José de Sucre defeated the Spanish resistance in the Battle of Pichincha
securing the independence of Quito.
On February 12, 1949, a realistic broadcast of H. G. Wells' novel The
War of the Worlds panicked most of the residents. A mob set fire to the
radio station and the offices of El Comercio, the capital's leading
newspaper, killing twenty people. The property damage was estimated at
$350,000. Three officials charged with responsibility for the broadcast
were arrested.
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