On this date...

William Price

In 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved funding for a gun factory in North Carolina to be built by Richard Herring and John Devane. The factory was to produce muskets with 3-foot, 8-inch barrels and 18-inch bayonets, at no more than five pounds each.

In 1776, in today’s orders, Washington works to turn a collection of provincial regiments into a disciplined army before the British strike New York. He reshapes the army in New York into five brigades and tightens control over arms. He knows the city is vulnerable. He knows the enemy can appear suddenly by sea.

In 1776, writing to the New York Committee of Safety, he presses for specifics: How many troops can New York actually furnish, and how many arms do they have? Washington fears a “great deficiency” in weapons.

In 1777, A group of 40 Shawnee, led by Chief Blackfish, under the direction of British Governor Henry Hamilton, attacked the Boonesborough settlement. During this first skirmish outside the fort, Daniel Boone and Daniel Goodman were wounded. A 21-year-old Virginian named Simon Kenton saved both men.

In 1778, the American Sloop-of-War Ranger (18 six-pound guns), commanded by Captain John Paul Jones, captured the HMS Drake (20 four-pound guns) off the coast of Ireland, delivering fatal wounds to the British ship's Captain, George Burdon, and Lieutenant Dobbs.

In 1780, outside of Charleston, South Carolina, Patriots attacked British troops digging in the first row of defensive trenches, inflicting 50 casualties and netting a dozen prisoners, but did little to halt the siege.

In 1800, the US Library of Congress was founded. U.S. President John Adams approved the $5,000 appropriated to acquire “such books as may be necessary for the use of congress.” It eventually became the largest library in the world.

In 1863, the Union army issued General Orders No. 100, which provided a code of conduct for Federal soldiers and officers when dealing with Confederate prisoners and civilians. The code was borrowed by many European nations, and its influence can be seen in the Geneva Convention.

In 1867, Black demonstrators staged ride-ins on Richmond, Virginia, streetcars

In 1877, Federal troops were ordered out of New Orleans, ending the North's post-Civil War rule in the South.

In 1888, Eastman Kodak was founded by George Eastman.

In 1897, the first reporter was assigned to the White House, William Price from the "Washington Star."

In 1898, the US fleet under Commodore George Dewey sailed from Hong Kong to the Philippines.

In 1913, the Woolworth Building opened in New York City by Frank Winfield Woolworth at a cost of $13.5 million, at 792 feet, then the world's tallest building

In 1960, rioting erupted in Biloxi, Mississippi, after Black protesters staging a “wade-in” at a whites-only beach were attacked by a crowd of hostile white people.

In 1961, JFK accepted "sole responsibility" following the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion.

In 1962, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology achieved the first satellite relay of a television signal.

In 1967, American General William Westmoreland said in a Vietnam War news conference that the enemy has "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily."

In 1980, U.S. forces launched a mission to rescue American hostages in Iran, but the attempt failed, and eight U.S. service members were killed.

In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched.

In 1990, Junk bond king Michael Milken pleaded guilty to six felonies related to securities fraud.

In 1995, the final bomb linked to the Unabomber exploded inside the Sacramento, California, offices of the California Forestry Association, killing chief lobbyist Gilbert B. Murray. (Theodore Kaczynski was later sentenced to four lifetimes in prison for a series of bombings that killed three people and injured 23 others.)

In 2004, the United States lifted economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years ago as a reward for cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction

In 2011, the website WikiLeaks, in collaboration with several media organizations, began releasing classified U.S. documents detailing the treatment of prisoners at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp from 2002 to 2008.

In 2018, former police officer Joseph DeAngelo was arrested at his home near Sacramento after DNA linked him to crimes attributed to the Golden State Killer; authorities believed he committed 13 murders and more than 50 rapes in the 1970s and 1980s. (DeAngelo would plead guilty in 2020 to 13 counts of murder and be sentenced to life in prison without parole.)

In 2018, US President Donald Trump hosted his first state dinner for visiting French President Emmanuel Macron.

In 2021, Joe Biden became the first US President to officially recognize the killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I as 'genocide.'

In 2023, Tucker Carlson, Fox News most popular prime-time host, was fired from the cable network.