1782 – Great Seal of the United States of America used for the first time.
1858 – 1st overland mail for California.
1908 – Carriage maker, William C. Durant, founds General Motors in Flint, Michigan.
1919 – American Legion incorporated by an act of US Congress.
1920 – The “Wall Street Bombing” occurs at 12:01 when a horse-drawn wagon explodes on Wall Street, New York, killing 38 and injuring 143.
1928 – Hurricane hits West Palm Beach-Lake Okeechobee Florida; 3,000 die.
1937 – Redskins NFL franchise play first game in Washington at Griffin Stadium; defeat the New York Giants in season opener, 13-3.
1940 – FDR signs Selective Training & Service Act (1st peacetime draft)
1951 – US Open Women’s Golf, Druid Hills GC: Betsy Rawls wins first of her 8 titles, 5 strokes ahead of runner-up Louise Suggs.
1953 – 1st movie in Cinemascope “The Robe” based on the book by Lloyd C. Douglas, directed by Henry Koster and starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons premieres.
1960 – Amos Alonzo Stagg retires as a football coach at 98.
1966 – Metropolitan Opera House opens in Lincoln Center, New York with Leontyne Price as Cleopatra in “Antony and Cleopatra” by Samuel Barber.
1973 – Buffalo’s O.J. Simpson rushes for a then NFL record 250 yards in Buffalo’s 31-13 win at New England.
1979 – Catfish Hunter Day at Yankee Stadium.
1988 – Jury awards Valerie Harper $1.6 M in dispute over TV series.
1991 – Atlanta’s Otis Nixon suspended for rest of 1991 due to cocaine.
1992 – FCC votes to allow competition for local phone service.
1997 – Apple Computer Inc names co-founder Steve Jobs interim CEO.
2013 – 12 people are killed after a gunman opens fire at a naval yard in Washington, D.C.
2018 – Salesforce founder Marc Benioff and wife Lynne Benioff announce purchase of Time magazine for $100 million.