On this date...

Aaron Burr

In 1774, The Articles of the Continental Association were agreed to by the First Continental Congress, which calls for a complete ban on all trade between America and Great Britain of all goods, wares or merchandise.

In 1781, A combined force of approximately 700 British, Loyalist, and Iroquois launched raids in the New York Mohawk Valley.

In 1803, The U.S. Senate, after due consideration and considerable oratory, ratified the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr was acquitted of treason following a trial resulting from his role in an alleged invasion of Texas.

In 1817, First Mississippi showboat leaves Nashville on its maiden voyage

In 1818, US and Britain agree to joint control of Oregon country

In 1839, Margaret Fuller is appointed editor of new US Transcendental Magazine "The Dial"

In 1903, US wins the disputed boundary between the District of Alaska and Canada.

1917 US suffragette Alice Paul begins a seven-month jail sentence for peacefully picketing in support of the Women's Suffrage (right to vote) Amendment at the White House in Washington, D.C.

In 1928, Wien Alaska Airways, Inc. is incorporated as the first airline in Alaska and one of the first in the US, with Noel Wien as president.

In 1944, After advancing island by island across the Pacific Ocean, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur wades ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte, fulfilling his promise to return to the area he was forced to flee in 1942.

In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee opened hearings into alleged Communist influence and infiltration in the U.S. motion picture industry.

In 1962, the White House press corps is told that President John F. Kennedy has a cold; in reality, he is holding secret meetings with advisors on the eve of ordering a blockade of Cuba.

In 1967, a jury in Meridian, Mississippi, convicted seven men of violating the civil rights of slain civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner; the seven received prison terms ranging from three to 10 years.

In 1967, The mythical ape man "Bigfoot" is filmed in northern California, capturing the imagination of true believers worldwide. When a prominent Bigfoot researcher later sent the FBI a hair sample, they concluded it was of "deer family origin."

In 1968, Former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

In 1973, During the ongoing Watergate investigation, U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered special prosecutor Archibald Cox fired, resulting in the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus, both of whom refused to carry out his request; the events became known as the “Saturday Night Massacre” of Justice Department officials.

In 1977, A plane carrying the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, known for such songs as Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama, crashed in Gillsburg, Mississippi, killing singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines, among others.

In 1979, John F. Kennedy Library is dedicated in Boston, Massachusetts.

In 1990, three members of the rap group 2 Live Crew were acquitted by a jury in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., of violating obscenity laws with an adults-only concert in nearby Hollywood the previous June.

In 2000, Egyptian-born Ali Mohamed, a U.S. citizen who'd served in the Army, pleaded guilty in New York to helping plan the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa in 1998 that killed 224 people.