EVENTS
- 1493 – Christopher Columbus departs on his second expedition to the New World.
- 1789 – The United States Supreme Court and the position of Attorney General are established.
- 1789 – The United States Post Office Department is established.
- 1869 – Black Friday in the United States. A group of speculators headed by James Fisk and Jay Gould started hoarding gold, which led to high gold prices. The US Treasury under the orders of President Ulysses S. Grant sold a large amount of gold leading to a plummet in gold prices within the span of minutes.
- 1948 – The Honda Motor Company is founded.
- 1957 – President Dwight Eisenhower ordered the National Guard to enforce racial integration of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas.
- 1957 – Camp Nou, a stadium that seats over 99,000 opens its doors for football fans. Situated in Barcelona, Spain, it is the largest stadium in Europe and the 11th largest in the world.
- 1973 – Guinea-Bissau gains independence. Guinea-Bissau declared its independence from Portugal. The declaration was recognized almost a year later on September 10, 1974.
- 1980 – War erupted between Iran and Iraq as Iraqi troops crossed the border and encircled Abadan, then set fire to the world’s largest oil refinery.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1714 – Alaungpaya (Burmese king)
- 1755 – John Marshall (Supreme Court Justice)
- 1896 – F. Scott Fitzgerald (Author)
- 1936 – Jim Henson (Creator of the Muppets)
- 1948 – Phil Hartman (Comedian – SNL)
- 1958 – Kevin Sorbo (Actor)
- 1964 – Rafael Palmiero (Baseball Player)
- 1981 – Ryan Briscoe (Australian race car driver)
- 1982 – Paul and Morgan Hamm (Olympic Gymnasts)
DEATHS
- 1180 – Manuel I Komnenos (Byzantine emperor)
- 1435 – Isabeau of Bavaria
- 1621 – Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (Polish military commander)
- 1834 – Pedro I of Brazil
- 1991 – Dr. Seuss (American author, poet, illustrator)