- 1789: President George Washington appointed John Jay the first
                       Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
                     - 1852: Henri Giffard, a French engineer, made the first powered
                       flight in a dirigible.
                     - 1869: On "Black Friday" the government released gold on the market
                       in response to Jay Gould and James Fisk attempts to corner the gold
                       bullion market, causing panic and a slump in price.
                     - 1889: Alexander Dey patented the dial time recorder.
                     - 1896: Author F. Scott Fitzgerald ("The Great Gatsby") was born in
                       St. Paul, Minn. (d: 1940 of a heart attack).
                     - 1936: Jim Henson, creator of Kermit the Frog and the rest of the
                       Muppets, was born in Greenville, Miss. (d: 1990, pneumonia).
                     - 1941: Nine allied governments meeting in London pledged allegiance
                       to the Atlantic Charter, an eight-point declaration issued by
                       President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston
                       Churchill. Photographer, musician and vegetarian Linda (Eastman)
                       McCartney was born in New York (d: 1998, cancer).
                     - 1957: President Dwight Eisenhower ordered the National Guard to
                       enforce racial integration of schools in Little Rock, Ark.
                     - 1960: The first U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS
                       Enterprise, was launched from Newport, Va.
                     - 1964: The first Minuteman II ICBM was tested.
                     - 1970: The Soviet Luna 16 landed back on earth after it completed
                       the first unmanned round trip to the moon.
                     - 1971: Ninety Russian diplomats were expelled from Britain for
                       spying.
                     - 1979: CompuServe began operation as the first computer information
                       service.
                     - 1980: A simmering border war between Iran and Iraq flared into
                       full-scale hostilities when Iraqi troops crossed the border,
                       encircled Abadan and set fire to the world's biggest oil refinery.
                     - 1988: Rev. Barbara C. Harris became the first woman elected an
                       Episcopal Church bishop. At the Olympic Games in Seoul, Canadian
                       Ben Johnson set a new world record of 9.79 seconds for the 100
                       meter-race, but six days later he was stripped of his medal for
                       taking performance-enhancing drugs.
                     - 1990: West German President Richard von Weizsaecker signed a
                       1,000-page treaty making the Oct. 3 reunification of the two
                       Germanies official. East Germany left the Warsaw Pact ahead of
                       unification with NATO member West Germany.
                     - 1991: Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, children's author of "The Cat In
                       The Hat," "Green Eggs and Ham," died at age 87. Nirvana's album
                       "Nevermind" was released.

                     *Happy Birthday*
                     ----------------
                     - Gordon Clapp, 50, actor, "NYPD Blue"
                     - Bernard Gilkey, 32, MLB outfielder, New York Mets
                     - "Mean" Joe Greene, 52, NFL defensive/tackle, five-time All-Pro,
                       two-time NFL outstanding defensive player
                     - John Mackey, 57, NFL Hall of Fame tight end of the Baltimore Colts,
                       San Diego Chargers
                     - Sheila MacRae, 74, actress/singer, "Jackie Gleason Show"
                     - Jim McKay, 77, sportscaster/commentator, 12-time Emmy winner, 1988
                       Peabody Award, 1990 Life Achievement Emmy
                     - Anthony Newley, 67, actor/singer/playwright, "Stop the World, I
                       Want to Get Off!"
                     - Rafael Palmiero, 34, Baltimore Orioles' first baseman
                     - Kevin Sorbo, 40, actor, "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"
                     - John Young, 68, astronaut