1746 – Princeton University (NJ) received its charter.
1836 – Sam Houston inaugurated as 1st elected President of the Republic of Texas.
1861 – 1st telegraph line linking West & East coasts completed.
1879 – Thomas Edison perfects carbonized cotton filament light bulb.
1906 – Henry Ford becomes President of Ford Motor Company.
1907 – Ringling Brothers Greatest Show on Earth buys Barnum & Bailey circus.
1924 – Toastmasters International is founded.
1928 – Herbert Hoover speaks of “American system of rugged individualism”
1934 – In East Liverpool, Ohio, notorious bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd is shot and killed by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.
1938 – Chester Carlson demonstrates 1st Xerox copying machine.
1962 – Cuban missile crisis: US President John F. Kennedy addresses TV about Russian missile bases in Cuba and imposes a naval blockade on Cuba, beginning the missile crisis.
1963 – 225,000 students boycott Chicago schools in Freedom Day protest.
1969 – Paul McCartney denies rumors of his death.
1976 – Red Dye No. 4 is banned by the US Food and Drug Administration after it is discovered that it causes tumors in the bladder of dogs. The dye is still used in Canada.
1981 – Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization decertified.
1981 – US national debt tops $1 trillion.
1981 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved aspartame artificial sweetener for tabletop use following years of scrutiny.
1997 – Compaq testifies Microsoft threaten to break Windows 95 agreement if they showcased a Netscape icon.
2005 – Tropical Storm Alpha forms in the Atlantic Basin, making the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record with 22 named storms.
2016 – AT&T buys Time Warner for $85.4 billion.