On this date...

In 1691, Massachusetts Bay Colony granted new charter.

In 1787, the Constitution was adopted by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Originally intended as a revision to the flailing Articles of Confederation that had governed the union since the early days of the War of Independence, the Constitution set forth what is now the longest-standing written national constitution in the world.

In 1796, George Washington prepares a final draft of his presidential farewell address. Two days later, the carefully crafted words appeared in Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser, published in Philadelphia, officially notifying the American public that Washington would voluntarily step down as the nation’s first president.

In 1819, First whaling ship arrives in Hawaii

In 1849, Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery in Maryland for the first time. She is joined her two brothers who give up and turn back, while Tubman makes her way to Philadelphia and becomes a guiding force in the Underground Railroad.

In 1859, Joshua Abraham Norton, an English-born resident of San Francisco, proclaims himself His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States of America.

In 1861, First class for escaped slaves taught by Mary Peake at Fortress Monroe Virginia (now Hampton University).

In 1862, Union forces halted the Confederate advance on Maryland during the Battle of Antietam; the battle resulted in more than 26,000 casualties—one of the bloodiest days of the American Civil War.

In 1862, just about 200 miles from where the Battle of Antietam was taking place, another Civil War-era tragedy occurs: Three explosions rip through the Allegheny Arsenal and kill 78 workers, mostly young women and girls.

In 1868, a large band of Cheyenne and Sioux stage a surprise attack on Major George A. Forsyth and a volunteer force of 50 frontiersmen in Colorado.

In 1873, Nineteen students attend the opening class at Ohio State University

In 1900, In the USA, anthracite coal miners go on strike for better wages until October 25, by which time the owners are persuaded that their stance is harming President McKinley's campaign

In 1920, The American Professional Football Association - a precursor of the National Football League - was formed in Canton, Ohio.

In 1947, James V. Forrestal was sworn in as the first U.S. secretary of defense.

In 1976, NASA publicly unveils its first space shuttle, the Enterprise, during a ceremony in Palmdale, California. Development of the aircraft-like spacecraft cost almost $10 billion and took nearly a decade.

In 1978, Camp David Accords signed providing framework for Egypt–Israel peace treaty.

In 1983, Vanessa Williams becomes first Black woman crowned Miss America.

In 1986, The Senate confirmed the nomination of William H. Rehnquist as the 16th chief justice of the United States.

In 1972, The American TV series M*A*S*H, based on the Robert Altman film (1970), debuted on CBS, and the show was hugely popular with both critics and viewers.

In 2001, Wall Street trading resumed for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - its longest shutdown since the Depression; the Dow lost 684.81 points, its worst one-day point drop to date.

In 2011, The first Occupy Wall Street protest was held in the United States, as some 1,000 demonstrators marched in Manhattan before occupying Zuccotti Park; the movement, which eventually went global, sought to highlight corporate greed and income inequality, among other issues.