| On this date in: |
| 1745 |
John Jay, statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, was born in New York City. |
| 1787 |
Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. |
| 1870 |
Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first black congressman. |
| 1897 |
“The Katzenjammer Kids,” the pioneering comic strip by Rudolph Dirks, debuted in the New York Journal. |
| 1914 |
The New York Stock Exchange re-opened for the first time since July 30. The market had shut down when World War I broke out. |
| 1915 |
Singer Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, N.J. |
| 1917 |
Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside Omaha, Neb. |
| 1924 |
New York City Mayor Ed Koch was born in the Bronx. |
| 1925 |
The first motel, the Motel Inn, opened, in San Luis Obispo, Calif. |
| 1947 |
The United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor. |
| 1963 |
Kenya gained its independence from Britain. |
| 1975 |
Sara Jane Moore pleaded guilty to trying to kill President Gerald R. Ford. |
| 1998 |
The House Judiciary Committee approved a fourth article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton and submitted the case to the full House. |
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| AP Photo/Joe Marquette |
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| 2003 |
Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the “Free Willy” movies, died in a Norwegian fjord. |
| 2009 |
Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker. |
