1607 – 1st permanent English settlement in New World, Jamestown, Va.
1767 – British government disbands Americans import duty on tea.
1787 – Delegates gather in Philadelphia to draw up US constitution.
1804 – Meriwether Lewis & William Clark’s expedition commissioned by Thomas Jefferson sets out from St. Louis for Pacific Coast.
1853 – Gail Borden, land surveyor, newspaper publisher, and inventor, patents his process for condensed milk.
1878 – Vaseline is granted a patent (U.S. Patent 127,568)
1908 – 1st passenger flight in an airplane.
1918 – Sunday baseball is made legal in Washington, DC.
1927 – “Ain’t She Sweet?” hits #1 on the singles chart by Ben Bernie.
1932 – “We Want Beer!” parade in NY.
1945 – US offensive on Okinawa, Sugar Loaf conquered.
1949 – US President Harry Truman signs bill establishing a rocket test range at Cape Canaveral.
1967 – Mickey Mantle’s 500 HR off Oriole’s Stu Miller.
1969 – Last Chevrolet Corvair built.
1973 – Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In last airs on NBC-TV.
1976 – Lowell Thomas ends 46 years as radio network reporter.
1986 – Reggie Jackson hit his 537th HR passing Mickey Mantle into 6th place.
1990 – Dow Jones average hits a record $2,821.53.
1998 – Last episode of Seinfeld on NBC (commercials are $2M for 30 seconds)
2012 – Stanford University scientists develop prototype bionic eye.
Also significant to note that this day observes the establishment of the State of Israel, as a free and independent nation. The United States, under President Harry Truman, was the first nation to acknowledge their independence, and it was quickly followed by a confirming resolution from the United Nations General Assembly.