1787 – The US Constitution is signed by delegates at the Philadelphia Convention.
1859 – Joshua Abraham Norton, English-born resident of San Francisco, proclaims himself his Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States of America.
1872 – Phillip W Pratt patents his sprinkler system for extinguishing fires.
1911 – 1st transcontinental airplane flight, NY-Pasadena in 82 hrs, 4 min.
1920 – National Football League is born in Canton, Ohio: 12 teams pay $100 each to join American Professional Association; re-named the NFL in 1922.
1931 – 1st LP record demonstrated (RCA Victor, NYC), venture failed.
1937 – 1st NFL game in Washington, C.C.; Redskins beat NY Giants 13-3.
1943 – Load of “ammunition in transit” explodes at Norfolk Naval Air Station.
1947 – Jackie Robinson is named Rookie of Year by Sporting News.
1953 – 1st successful separation of Siamese (conjoined) twins.
1960 – Cuba nationalizes US banks.
1962 – US space officials announce selection of 9 new astronauts.
1976 – NASA publicly unveils space shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, California, named after Star Trek Enterprise with cast attending.
1983 – Chicago White Sox clinch their 1st-ever AL West championship.
1987 – Pope John Paul II arrives in San Francisco, meets with AIDS patients, and embraces an AIDS infected child.
1989 – Hurricane Hugo, kills 85 in Charleston, South Carolina.
1992 – US House of Representatives votes 280 to 128 to give FCC control of cable TV rates.
2001 – Major trading markets in the United States, including the New York Stock Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), reopen for the first time since September 11.
2015 – US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports 2015 Northern Hemisphere summer hottest on record.
2018 – Hurricane Florence has caused 900 people to be rescued from flooding, death toll at 23, city of Wilmington isolated officials announce.
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