1887 – Oregon becomes first US state to make Labor Day a holiday.
1895 – North Carolina legislature adjourns for the day to mark the passing of Frederick Douglass.
1901 – In Cuba, the constitutional delegates adopt a constitution much like that of the United States.
1916 – World War I: Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties and becomes the longest battle of the entire war at 9 months.
1925 – First issue of “New Yorker” magazine published.
1931 – Alka Seltzer introduced.
1941 – Officer Omar Bradley is promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
1947 – First instant developing camera demonstrated by Edwin Land at the Optical Society of America in New York City.
1948 – NASCAR is incorporated.
1953 – Longest collegiate basketball game results in Niagara beating Siena 88-81 in six overtimes.
1968 – Baseball announces a minimum annual salary of $10,000.
1970 – Jackson 5 make TV debut on “American Bandstand.”
1971 – Series of tornadoes cuts through Mississippi and Louisiana killing 177.
1980 – American speed skater Eric Heiden wins the 1,500-meter race in an Olympic-record 1:55.44. It’s his fourth of a record five gold medals at Lake Placid.
1989 – Pete Rose meets with Commissioner Peter Ueberroth to discuss his gambling.
1997 – NASA’s STS 82 — Space Shuttle Discovery 22 — lands.
2014 – President Barack Obama meets with the Dalia Lama.
2015 – 58th Daytona 500: Denny Hamlin wins closest finish in race history, beating Martin Truex Jr. by 1/100th seconds.
2022 – Russian leader Vladimir Putin recognizes Russia-backed separatists in two Ukrainian regions, ordering in troops for “peacekeeping functions.”
2023 – President Joe Biden vows unwavering support for Ukraine in a speech from Warsaw Castle, Poland, a day after he made a surprise trip to Ukraine.