1699 — Peter the Great ordered Russian New Year changed-Sept 1 to Jan 1
1780 — England declares war on Netherlands
1790 — First successful U.S. cotton mill to spin yarn (Pawtucket RI)
1820 — Missouri imposes a $1 bachelor tax on unmarried men between 21 & 50
1830 — England, France, Prussia, Austria & Russia recognize Belgium
1850 — Hawaiian post office established
1883 — International cantilever railway bridge opens at Niagara Falls
1892 — Pneumatic automobile tire patented, Syracuse NY
1900 — Giacobini discovers a comet (will be first comet visited by spacecraft)
1919 — Canadian National Railways established (North America's longest, 50,000 KM)
1919 — U.S. House of Representatives restricts immigration
1922 — 14 republics form Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics (USSR)
1924 — Adolf Hitler freed from jail early
1944 — Bishop forbids membership in non Catholic unions
1960 — Auschwitz-commandant Richard Bär arrested in German Federal Republic
1963 — Berlin Wall opens for first time to West Berliners
1966 — Brussels: Nuclear Planning Group established
1974 — Ethiopia becomes socialist one-party state
1983 — PLO chairman Yasser Arafat & 4,000 loyalists evacuate Lebanon
1999 — Portugal returns Macau to China