On this date...

Claudette Covin

In 1776, General George Washington ordered American artillery forces to begin bombarding Boston from their positions at Lechmere Point, northwest of the city center, in advance of bringing in the big guns. It marked the beginning of the end of the Siege of Boston and Britain's wartime occupation of Boston.

In 1776, Preparations continue. Washington writes again to Major General Artemas Ward, explaining that, after weighing tides, hazards, and the danger of the enemy seizing Dorchester Neck, the officers agree the army must act on Monday night—two days from now. 

In 1778, Nathanael Greene was appointed Quartermaster General of the Continental Army under George Washington.

In 1781; The Battle of Clapp's Mill, North Carolina occured when Patriot forces under Colonel Henry Lee, local militiamen, and Catawba Indian allies surprised the Loyalist mounted cavalry of Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton.

In 1789, Pennsylvania ends prohibition of theatrical performances.

In 1807, the U.S. Congress passed an act to “prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States…from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.” It would go into effect at the start of the following year.

In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was organized.

In 1836, delegates to the General Convention taking place at Washington-on-the-Brazos declared Texas's independence from Mexico.

In 1853, the Territory of Washington was organized after separating from the Oregon Territory.

In 1861, the US creates Dakota & Nevada Territories out of the Nebraska & Utah territories.

In 1861, Texas became the seventh state to secede from the Union.

In 1865, Confederate forces under General Jubal A. Early suffered a decisive defeat at Waynesboro, Virginia, that ended Southern resistance in the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. The Confederacy collapsed the following month.

In 1867, Jesse James' gang robs bank in Savannah, Missouri, 1 killed.

In 1867, Radical Republicans in Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act over U.S. Pres. Andrew Johnson's veto forbade the president from removing civil officers without senatorial consent. The dispute set the stage for Johnson's impeachment in 1868.

In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the disputed presidential election of 1876 after a special Electoral Commission awarded him all contested electoral votes; he was sworn into office the following day.

In 1899, President William McKinley signed legislation creating Mount Rainier National Park in central Washington. The 365-square-mile area of pristine forests and spectacular alpine scenery was the fifth national park designated by Congress.

In 1901, the United States Congress passed the Platt Amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops.

In 1901, the US Steel Corporation was organized under J. P. Morgan, Sr., through the merger of Carnegie Steel Company, Federal Steel Company, and National Steel Company.

In 1903, Manhattan's Martha Washington Hotel opens, first exclusively for women.

In 1917, the Jones-Shafroth Act designated Puerto Rico a territory of the United States, “organized but unincorporated.” It also gave Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship.

In 1929, the Jones Act, the last gasp of Prohibition, was signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge.

In 1933, the landmark monster movie King Kong had its world premiere; in addition to pioneering special effects by Willis O'Brien, it was the first significant feature film to star an animated character.

In 1939, the Massachusetts Legislature voted to ratify the US Bill of Rights, 147 years late.

In 1943, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea began when U.S. and Australian land-based planes launched an offensive against a convoy of Japanese ships in the western Pacific.

In 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks’ more famous act of defiance, Claudette Colvin, a Black high school student in Montgomery, Alabama, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white passenger.

In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA single-game scoring record at 100.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy announces US would resume above-ground nuclear testing.

In 1965, The Sound of Music, a film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical play, premiered; the movie, which was based on the real-life story of the Trapp family of Austria, was a commercial success and won an Oscar for best picture.

In 1966, in Dearborn, Michigan, the Ford Motor Company celebrated the production of its 1 millionth Mustang, a white convertible.

In 1967, Senator Robert Kennedy (D-New York) proposed a three-point plan to help end the war. The plan included suspension of the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam and the gradual withdrawal of U.S. and North Vietnamese troops from South Vietnam with replacement by an international force.

In 1970, American Airlines begins their first service using a Boeing 747, between New York's JFK International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

In 1972, Pioneer 10, the world’s first outer-planetary probe, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet.

In 1974, the grand jury concludes US President Richard Nixon was involved in the Watergate cover-up.

In 1985, the federal government approved a screening test for AIDS that detected antibodies to the virus, allowing possibly contaminated blood to be excluded from the blood supply.

In 1995, Researchers at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, announced the discovery of the top quark (subatomic particle), the sixth and most massive quark.

In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church have a First Amendment right to picket the funeral of a Marine.

In 2017, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Trump campaign contacts with Russia after revelations that he met the Russian Ambassador.

In 2020, Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the US Democratic presidential race and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden.

In 2021, six books by Dr. Seuss will cease publication because of racist and insensitive imagery, according to Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

In 2023, after a six-week trial, a jury deliberated for three hours and found former lawyer Alex Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and his youngest son, Paul Murdaugh, at the family's estate in South Carolina.