- 1493: Christopher Columbus set sail from Cadiz, Spain, on his
                        second voyage to the New World.
                      - 1513: Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first
                        European to sight the Pacific Ocean after crossing the Isthmus of
                        Panama.
                      - 1690: "Publick Occurrences," the first American newspaper,
                        published its only edition in Boston.
                      - 1775: Ethan Allen was captured by the British while leading an
                        attack on Montreal.
                      - 1780: Benedict Arnold joined the British.
                      - 1789: The first U.S. Congress offered a series of 12 amendments to
                        the Constitution. Ten of the amendments, making up the Bill of
                        Rights, were subsequently ratified.
                      - 1804: The 12th Constitutional Amendment was adopted, providing for
                        the way the President and Vice President were elected.
                      - 1867: Congress created the first all-black university, Howard
                        University in Washington, D.C.
                      - 1890: Congress established Yosemite National Park in California;
                        the head of the Mormon Church issued a manifesto saying that the
                        teaching and practice of polygamy should end.
                      - 1897: Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Faulkner was
                        born in New Albany, Miss. (d: 1962).
                      - 1904: Charles Follis became the first black to play pro football.
                      - 1906: Composer Dmitri Shostakovich was born (d: 1975).
                      - 1936: Dancer/actress Juliet Prowse was born in India (d: 1996,
                        cancer).
                      - 1943: Russian troops liberated Smolensk, one of the most important
                        bastions still left to the Germans in Russia.
                      - 1956: The first transatlantic telephone cable was put into service
                        from Oban, Scotland, to Newfoundland, Canada.
                      - 1957: U.S. National Guardsmen escorted nine black students into
                        Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, signaling the start of
                        racial desegregation.
                      - 1962: Sonny Liston won the world heavyweight boxing title after
                        knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round in Chicago.
                      - 1981: Sandra Day O'Connor was sworn in as the first female justice
                        on the Supreme Court.

                      *Happy Birthday*
                      ----------------
                      - Tate Donovan, 35, actor, "Memphis Belle," "Hercules" (voice)
                      - Michael Douglas, 54, actor, "The American President," "The Game"
                      - Mark Hamill, 47, actor, "Star Wars'" Luke Skywalker
                      - Heather Locklear, 37, actress, "Melrose Place's" Amanda Woodward
                      - Christopher Reeve, 46, actor/handicap advocate
                      - Phil Rizzuto, 81, former MLB shortstop, broadcaster
                      - Keely Shaye Smith, 35, broadcaster, "Unsolved Mysteries"
                      - Will Smith, 30, actor/rapper "Men In Black," "Indepedence Day"
                      - Barbara Walters, 67, newscaster/journalist
                      - Anson Williams, 49, director/actor "Happy Day