1781 — Americans & French begin siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown; last battle of the Revolutionary War
1857 — American Chess Assn organized; first major U.S. chess tournament (NYC)
1866 — First train robbery in U.S.
1876 — American Library Association organized in Philadelphia
1889 — Thomas Edison shows his first motion picture
1923 — USSR adopts experimental calendar
1927 — "Jazz Singer," first movie with a sound track, premieres (NYC)
1928 — Chiang Kai-Shek becomes president of China
1949 — Pres Truman signs Mutual Defense Assistance Act (for NATO)
1976 — Pres Ford says there is "no Soviet domination in Eastern Europe"
1979 — Pope John Paul II is 1st Pope to visit the White House
1991 — Elizabeth Taylor weds for the 8th time (Larry Fortensky)