1857 – The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in U.S. history.
1891 – Thomas Edison patents motion picture camera.
1909 – Workers begin pouring concrete for Panama Canal.
1912 – District of Alaska becomes an organized incorporated territory of the United States.
1932 – 1st transcontinental non-stop flight by a woman, Amelia Earhart.
1940 – Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams pitches the last 2 innings in a 12-1 loss to Detroit Tigers, Williams allows 3 hits & 1 run.
1949 – North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) goes into effect.
1954 – US President Eisenhower signs Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party, at height of McCarthyism.
1956 – 1st non-stop transcontinental helicopter flight arrived in Washington, D.C.
1962 – Dodger coach Leo Durocher suffers a near-fatal allergic reaction to a penicillin injection while in the clubhouse at the Polo Grounds.
1969 – Peru nationalizes US oil interests.
1975 – PGA Tournament Players Championship, Colonial CC: Al Geiberger leads wire-to-wire to finish 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Dave Stockton.
1984 – Pat Bradley sets LPGA record for 9 holes with a 28 during 2nd round of Columbia Savings National at Green Gables CC, Denver, CO.
1989 – Pete Rose is suspended from baseball for life for gambling.
1992 – Hurricane Andrew hits South Florida, making landfall at Elliott Key and later Homestead; 44 die and $25 billion in damage is recorded.
2006 – After signing a one-day contract with the San Francisco 49ers, Jerry Rice officially retires from the NFL.
2011 – Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple, Inc., and is succeeded by Tim Cook, as a result of his illness.
2015 – Facebook CEO mark Zuckerberg announces that for the 1st time 1 billion people logged into Facebook.
2017 – Largest-ever lottery jackpot win in the US – $758.7m won by Mavis Wanczyk of Massachusetts in US Powerball Jackpot.
2018 – Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler sends cease-and-desist letter to President Trump demanding he stop using the band’s songs at rallies.