On this date...

In 1900, U.S. Army physician James Carroll allowed an infected mosquito to feed on him in an attempt to isolate the means of transmission of yellow fever. Carroll developed a severe case of yellow fever, helping his colleague, Army pathologist Walter Reed, prove that mosquitoes transmit this often-deadly disease.

In 1665, "Ye Bare & Ye Cubb" is the first play performed in North America in Accomac, Virginia

In 1776, General and Admiral Howe defeated Washington’s forces at The Battle of Brooklyn Heights (Battle of Long Island).

In 1782, Battle of the Combahee River near Beaufort, South Carolina: American abolitionist John Laurens is killed while leading the charge

In 1859, Edwin Laurentine Drake struck oil while drilling in Titusville, Pennsylvania, becoming the first driller of a productive oil well in the United States.

In 1875, Hours after being asked to resign as president of the Bank of California, the powerful western capitalist William Ralston is found drowned in San Francisco Bay.

In 1927, America's oldest aviation school, Parks College, opens

In 1928, The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed between France and the United States in a series of peacekeeping efforts after World War I.

In 1945, American troops began landing in Japan following the surrender of the Japanese government in World War II.

In 1962, The United States launched the Mariner 2 space probe, which flew past Venus the following December

In 1964, The musical film Mary Poppins, an adaptation of P.L. Travers's book, had its world premiere in Los Angeles. It became a Hollywood classic, especially noted for the performance of Julie Andrews, who was making her screen debut.

In 2011, After causing extensive damage to several Caribbean islands, Hurricane Irene made landfall in the United States, striking North Carolina's Outer Banks before moving along the Eastern Seaboard.