1790 ― Robert Gray becomes first American to navigate the Columbia River
1809 ― Ecuador declares independence from Spain (National Day)
1821 ― Missouri admitted as 24th U.S. state
1827 ― Race riots in Cincinnati (1,000 black people leave for Canada)
1885 ― Leo Daft opens America's first commercially operated electric streetcar (Balt)
1893 ― Chinese deported from SF under Exclusion Act
1913 ― Second Balkan War ends, Treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria loses
1949 ― Nat'l Military Establishment renamed Dept. of Defense
1966 ― First lunar orbiter launched by U.S.
1966 ― Daylight meteor seen from Utah to Canada. Only known case of a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere & leaving it again
1980 ― Jack Nicklaus wins PGA Championship for 5th time
1981 ― Coca-Cola Bottling Co. agrees to pump $34 million into black businesses
1988 ― U.N. estimates Asia's population hit 3 billion