1789 – New Jersey is 1st state to ratify Bill of Rights.
1817 – First Seminole War begins in Florida.
1866 – Howard University founded in Washington, DC.
1888 – Willard Bundy patents timecard clock.
1914 – US State Department starts requiring photographs for passports.
1919 – 1st municipally owned airport in US opens (Tucson, Arizona)
1923 – Garrett Morgan patents his traffic signal design, an important development in automobile safety.
1931 – Commercial teletype service begins (AT&T)
1942 – NHL abolishes regular season OT until WW II is over.
1947 – “Meet the Press” makes network TV debut on NBC.
1952 – George Axelrod’s “Seven Year Itch” premieres in NYC.
1959 – WABC fires Alan Freed over payola scandal.
1966 – “Cabaret” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 1166 performances.
1974 – The US files antitrust suit to break-up AT&T.
1977 – Walter Payton (Bears) rushes for NFL record 275 yards.
1982 – Drew Barrymore at age 7 hosts “Saturday Night Live”
1993 – Savings and Loan scandal: The United States Senate Ethics Committee issues a stern censure of California Sen. Alan Cranston for his “dealings” with savings-and-loan executive Charles Keating.
2000 – 52nd NASCAR Sprint Cup: Bobby Labonte wins.
2008 – After critical failures in the US financial system began to build up after mid-September, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level since 1997.
2014 – Nearly 5 million illegal migrants in the US have the threat of deportation deferred, after President Barack Obama announces sweeping immigration changes.