1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.
1776 – New Jersey gives the right to vote to all adults who could show a net worth of 50 pounds.
1776 – At the Continental Congress, John Dickenson abstains from the votes that declare independence.
1843 – An alligator falls from the sky during a thunderstorm in Charleston, South Carolina.
1847 – Envelope bearing 1st US 10 cent stamps used (still exists today).
1881 – US President James Garfield shot by Charles J. Guiteau a disappointed office-seeker; Garfield dies 79 days later.
1916 – Lenin says Imperialism is caused by capitalism.
1928 – The Jenkins Television Corporation (owned by Charles Jenkins) goes on air with W3XK, the first television broadcasting station in the USA.
1937 – Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan disappear over Pacific Ocean.
1941 – Joe DiMaggio breaks Willie Keeler’s 44 game hitting streak (45th of 56).
1949 – “Red Barber’s Clubhouse” sports show premiers on CBS (later on NBC) TV.
1955 – “Lawrence Welk Show” premieres on ABC.
1956 – Elvis Presley records “Hound Dog” & Don’t Be Cruel.”
1964 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Civil Rights Act & Voting Rights Act into law.
1972 – “Fiddler on the Roof” closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 3242 performances.
1979 – Susan B. Anthony dollar is issued, 1st US coin to honor a woman.
1991 – Donald Trump proposes to Marla Maples and gives her a 7.5 carat diamond ring.
1994 – US Air DC-9 crash in North Carolina, 37 killed.
2012 – GlaxoSmithKline settles the largest healthcare fraud case in history for US$3 billion.
2015 – BP agrees to compensate US government gulf states $18.7 billion for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.