1862 – US President Abraham Lincoln says he will free slaves in all states on January 1.
1912 – Philadelphia second baseman Eddie Collins becomes only player in MLB history to steal 6 bases in one game for a second time as A’s beat St. Louis Browns, 8-2.
1915 – Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas) holds its 1st class.
1920 – Chicago grand jury convenes to investigates charges that 8 White Sox players conspired to fix the 1919 World Series.
1927 – “The long count” – in a famous boxing rematch, Gene Tunney beats Jack Dempsey by 10-round unanimous decision at Soldiers Field, Chicago to retain world heavyweight title: crowd 104,943; gate $2,858,660.
1944 – US troops land on Ulithi atoll, western Pacific.
1950 – Omar Bradley promoted to rank of 5-star general in the United States Army.
1954 – Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Karl Spooner strikes out 15 NY Giants in his 1st MLB game.
1958 – US nuclear submarine USS Skate remains 31 days under the Pole (record)66
1966 – Edward Albee’s play “Delicate Balance” premieres in NYC (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1967)
1966 – Only 413 show up at Yankee Stadium game.
1971 – OPEC directs members to negotiate price increases to offset the devaluation of the US dollar.
1976 – TV drama “Charlie’s Angels” starring Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith debuts.
1981 – Sandra Day O’Conner appointed to US Supreme Court.
1983 – The Everly Brothers reunite after 10 years apart in concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
1991 – Harry Gant wins NASCAR Goody’s 500.
1997 – Elton John releases “Candle in the Wind 1997”, a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales in the US.
2006 – The F-14 Tomcat retires from the United States Navy.
2015 – Volkswagen admits that 11 million cars have been wrongly programmed to appear to emit lesser emissions than they are.
2020 – President Xi Jinping of China pledges at the UN that the country will adopt stronger climate targets including becoming carbon neutral by 2050.