Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1774

The First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia.

1825

The Erie Canal opened in upstate New York. The 363-mile canal connected Lake Erie and the Hudson River at a cost of $7,602,000

1858

H.E. Smith patented the rotary-motion washing machine.

1881

The "Gunfight at the OK Corral" took place in Tombstone, AZ. The fight was between Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and Doc Holiday and the Ike Clanton Gang.

1905

Norway gained independence from Sweden.

1942

The U.S. ship Hornet was sunk in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands during World War II.

1944

During World War II, the Battle of Leyte Gulf ended. The battle was won by American forces and brought the end of the Pacific phase of World War II into sight.

1949

U.S. President Harry Truman raised the minimum wage from 40 to 75 cents an hour.

1951

Winston Churchill became the prime minister of Great Britain.

1955

New York City's "The Village Voice" was first published.

1957

The Soviet Union announced that defense minister Marchal Georgi Zhukov had been relieved of his duties.

1958

Pan American Airways flew its first Boeing 707 jetliner from New York to Paris; the trip took eight hours and 41 minutes.

1962

In one of the most dramatic verbal confrontations of the Cold War, American U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson asked his Soviet counterpart during a Security Council debate whether the USSR had placed missiles in Cuba. ''Don't wait for the translation - yes

1967

The Shah of Iran crowned himself and his Queen after 26 years on the Peacock Throne.

1970

"Doonesbury," the comic strip by Gary Trudeau, premiered in 28 newspapers across the U.S.

1972

National security adviser Henry Kissinger declared ''Peace is at hand'' in Vietnam.

1975

Anwar Sadat became the first Egyptian president to pay an official visit to the United States.

1977

The experimental space shuttle Enterprise glided to a bumpy but successful landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

1979

South Korean President Park Chung-hee was shot to death by the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim Jae-kyu.

1980

Israeli President Yitzhak Navon became the first Israeli head of state to visit Egypt.

1984

"Baby Fae", a newborn with a severe heart defect, was given the heart of a baboon in an experimental transplant in Loma Linda, Calif. (Baby Fae lived 21 days with the animal heart.) Loma Linda University Medical Center spokeswoman Anita Rockwell

1985

Approximately 110,000 people marched past the U.S. and Soviet embassies in London to pressure the two countries to end their arms race.

1988

Two whales were freed by Soviet and American icebreakers. The whales had been trapped for nearly 3 weeks in an Arctic ice pack.

1990

Wayne Gretzky became the first NHL player to reach 2,000 points.

1992

In Canada, voters rejected the Charlottetown accord, which was designed to unify the country.

1992

General Motors Corp. Chairman Robert Stempel resigned after the company recorded its highest losses in history.

1993

Deborah Gore Dean was convicted of 12 felony counts of defrauding the U.S. government and lying to the U.S. Congress. Dean was a central figure in the Reagan-era HUD scandal.

1994

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali of jordan signed a peace treaty in a ceremony attended by President Clinton.

1995

Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) scored his 500th National Hockey League (NHL) career goal against the New York Islanders in his 605th game.

1996

Federal prosecutors cleared Richard Jewell as a suspect in the Olympic park bombing, ending a three-month ordeal for the former security guard.

1997

The Florida Marlins, who began play in 1993, became the youngest franchise to win the World Series with a 3-2 victory in the 11th inning over the Cleveland Indians in Game 7.

2000

The New York Yankees became the first team in more than a quarter century to win three straight World Series championships, beating the New York Mets 4-2 in game five of their ''Subway Series.''

2001

It was announced that Fort Worth's Lockheed Martin won a defense contract for $200 billion over 40 years. The contract, for the "joint strike fighter," was the largest defense contract in history.

2002

Russian authorities pumped a gas into a theater where separatist rebels held over 800 hostages. The gas killed 116 hostages and all 50 hostage-takers were killed by the gas or gunshot wounds.

1854

Charles William Post was born. He was the inventor of "Grape Nuts," "Postum" and "Post Toasties."

1914

Jackie Coogan was born. He became the first child to appear in a full-length movie, "The Kid."

1881

The gunfight at the OK Corral took place in Tombstone, Ariz., as Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and ''Doc'' Holliday confronted Ike Clanton's gang. Three members of Clanton's gang were killed; Earp's brothers were wounded.

1990

William S. Paley died at the age of 89. He was the founder of CBS Inc.