1774 The first Continental Congress of what would later become the USA, convenes in Philadelphia, PA.
1781 Battle of Virginia Capes, French defeat British, traps Cornwallis
1795 US-Algiers sign peace treaty
1862 Lee crosses the Potomac &enters Maryland
1877 Southern blacks led by Pap Singleton settle in Kansas
1882 10,000 workers participate in the first US Labor Day parade, held in New York City.
1885 The first gasoline pump is delivered to a gasoline dealer (Ft Wayne, Ind)
1900 France proclaims a protectorate over Chad
1901 The first US professional baseball league is established, in Chicago, IL.
1905 Treaty of Portsmouth USA, ends Russo-Japanese War
1914 Battle of Marne (WW I) begins
1914 HMS Pathfinder, a British Light cruiser torpedoed and sunk out from the Firth of Forth by German submarine U21.
1923 Flyweights Gene LaRue &Kid Pancho KO each other simultaneously
1925 112ø F (44ø C), Centerville, Alabama (state record)
1939 The US proclaims its neutrality in WWII a position that would last until 12/7/1941.
1940 All 355 Jewish-owned businesses in Luxembourg become "Aryan" property.
1944 Allies liberate Brussels
1946 Joe Garagiola plays his 1st major league baseball game
1953 The first privately operated atomic reactor-Raleigh NC
1956 20 die in a train crash in Springer NM
1958 "Doctor Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak published in the US
1958 The first color video recording on magnetic tape presented, Charlotte NC
1960 Cassius Clay captures the olympic light heavyweight gold medal
1968 21 killed by hijackers aboard a Pan Am jet in Karachi Pakistan
1970 Estimated 15 cm (6") of rainfall, Bug Point, Utah (state record)
