On this date...
In 1768, English troops under General Gage landed in Boston. Soldiers drawn chiefly from the 14th and 29th Infantry Regiments, and numbering about 700 men, landed at Boston without opposition.
In 1776, Washington warns his army at Harlem Heights that a British attack may come “hourly.” The men must be ready at any sudden alarm and are reminded that they are fighting for “every thing that freemen should value.” Washington vows to defend the posts “to the last extremity.” Officers are placed behind the lines with authority to shoot any man who retreats without orders.
In 1832, Texian political delegates convened at San Felipe de Austin to petition for changes in the governance of Mexican Texas.
In 1837, the General Land Office of Texas officially opened under John Borden, the first land commissioner. Originally headquartered in Houston, Borden moved the land office’s records to Austin in 1839 when it became the republic’s seat of government.
In 1854, the watch company, founded in 1850 in Roxbury by Aaron Lufkin Dennison, relocated to Waltham, Massachusetts, to become the Waltham Watch Company, a pioneer in the American System of Watch Manufacturing
In 1880, John Philip Sousa started his 12-year tour as director of the US Marine Band. He premiered many of his marches and produced the first commercial phonograph recordings.
In 1889, Washington voters adopted the state constitution in a referendum
In 1890, Yosemite National Park was established.
In 1890, Congress created the Weather Bureau, moving the Weather Warning Service from the US Army Signal Corps to the Department of Agriculture.
In 1891, Stanford University in California opened its doors after Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane, founded it with a $40 million donation in memory of their son. Among its first graduating class is future US President Herbert Hoover
In 1903, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Americans, 7-3, in the first professional baseball World Series game. It was held in Boston.
In 1907, a downturn in the stock market led to a run on the dollar; US President Theodore Roosevelt called on financier J. P. Morgan to help manage the financial crisis
In 1908, the company completed the first production Model T Ford at its Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit.
In 1910, a massive explosion destroyed the Los Angeles Times building in the city’s downtown area, killing 21 and injuring many more.
In 1920, Scientific American magazine reports that the rapidly developing medium of radio would soon be used to broadcast music. A revolution in music's role in everyday life was about to be born.
In 1926, an oil field accident cost aviator Wiley Post his left eye; he used the settlement money to buy his first aircraft
In 1932, during game three of the World Series, New York Yankee Babe Ruth made his famous “called shot” when he pointed to the center-field bleachers in Wrigley Field and then hit a home run to that spot; the Yankees defeated the Chicago Cubs and went on to win the championship.
In 1948, the California Supreme Court voided a state statute banning interracial marriages in the Perez v. Sharp case.
In 1955, Jackie Gleason's sitcom "The Honeymooners" debuts on CBS, replacing his variety series; production ends after 39 episodes
In 1957, the motto “In God We Trust” began appearing on U.S. paper currency.
In 1958, the American Express Company issued its first charge card in the U.S. and Canada to give traveling customers more flexibility.
In 1961, American baseball player Roger Maris hit his 61st home run of the season, breaking Babe Ruth’s record.
In 1961, the United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was formed, becoming the country’s first centralized military espionage organization.
In 1962, Johnny Carson began hosting The Tonight Show, and he became king of late-night television, credited with creating the standard format for TV talk shows.
In 1962, federal marshals escorted James Meredith as he enrolled as the first Black student at the University of Mississippi; Meredith’s presence sparked rioting that left two people dead.
In 1964, the Free Speech Movement began at the University of California, Berkeley, as students surrounded a police car containing an arrested campus activist for more than 30 hours.
In 1971, Walt Disney World opened.
In 1974, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" horror film premiered in director Tobe Hooper's hometown, Austin, Texas, in the US
In 1974, computer scientist Gary Kildall presented the prototype of his CP/M operating system in his backyard toolshed, the first commercially successful personal computer operating system
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to former naval aviators Neil Armstrong, CAPT Charles Conrad, Jr., USN (Ret.), COL John Glenn, USMC (Ret.), and RADM Alan Shepard, Jr., USN (Ret.)
In 1982, Congress established the U.S. Claims Court (now the U.S. Court of Federal Claims) to handle cases in which the United States is a defendant.
In 1987, an earthquake in Whittier, California, killed 6 people and injured 100 more.
In 1989, the United States returned sovereignty of the Panama Canal to Panama.
In 1989, US Army General Colin Powell, at 52, became the youngest and first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation's highest military position
In 1993, Polly Klaas was abducted at knifepoint by an intruder in her Petaluma, California, home during a slumber party with two friends. This kidnapping would lead to California's three-strikes law.
In 2001, the Supreme Court suspended former President Bill Clinton from practicing before the high court.
In 2008, a $700 billion financial industry bailout passed the Senate 74-25 after it was loaded with tax breaks and other sweeteners.
In 2012, California becomes the first US state to ban conversion therapy for minors
In 2013, a partial United States federal government shutdown occurs due to political disagreements over operational spending
In 2015, a gunman kills eight students and a teacher at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon
In 2017, 58 people were killed, and 869 were injured in a mass shooting in Las Vegas.
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