- 1746: Princeton University (originally the College of New Jersey)
    was chartered.
  - 1836: Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first elected president of
    the Republic of Texas.
  - 1861: The first telegraph line linking the West and East coasts was
    completed.
  - 1881: The Boston Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert.
  - 1883: The original Metropolitan Opera House in New York had its
    grand opening with the production of "Faust."
  - 1897: The world's first car dealer opened in London.
  - 1907: Ringling Brothers Greatest Show on Earth bought Barnum &
    Bailey circus.
  - 1934: Federal agents shot and killed bank robber Charles "Pretty
    Boy" Floyd.
  - 1936: The first commercial airplane flight from Hawaii to the
    mainland was made.
  - 1938: Chester Carlson demonstrated the first Xerox copying machine.
  - 1954: West Germany joined NATO.
  - 1962: In the Cuban missile crisis, President Kennedy said he
    ordered U.S. air and naval troops to blockade Cuba, after
    discovering Soviet missiles on the island. He also demanded Russia
    dismantle the rocket sites.
  - 1979: The Shah of Iran was granted permission to enter the U.S. for
    medical treatment, bringing on the Iran hostage crisis two weeks
    later.
  - 1981: After an illegal strike in which President Reagan fired the
    air traffic controllers, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers
    Organization was decertified. The national debt climbed to more
    than $1 trillion.

  *Happy Birthday*
  ----------------
  - Brian Boitano, 35, figure skater, Olympic gold medal in 1988
  - Catherine Deneuve, 55, actress/model
  - Michael Fishman, 18, actor, "Roseanne's" D.J. Connor
  - Annette Funicello, 56, actress/singer
  - Jeff Goldblum, 46, actor, "Jurassic Park," "Independence Day"
  - Derek Jacobi, 60, actor, "I, Claudius," "Dead Again"
  - Jonathan Lipnicki, 8, actor, "Jerry Maguire"
  - Christopher Lloyd, 60, actor, "Taxi," "Back to the Future"