TODAY IN HISTORY - SEPTEMBER 18TH

1793 – The first cornerstone of the Capitol building is laid by George Washington.

1809 – The Royal Opera House in London opens.

1837 – Tiffany and Co. (first named Tiffany & Young) is founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City. The store is called a "stationery and fancy goods emporium".

1850 – The U.S. Congress passes the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

1851 – First publication of The New-York Daily Times, which later becomes The New York Times.

1873 – Panic of 1873: The U.S. bank Jay Cooke & Company declares bankruptcy, triggering a series of bank failures.

1895 – Booker T. Washington delivers the "Atlanta compromise" address.

1905 – Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress (d. 1990) is born.

1927 – The Columbia Broadcasting System goes on the air.

1945 – General Douglas MacArthur moves his command headquarters to Tokyo.

1945 – John McAfee, Scottish-American computer programmer, founded McAfee is born.

1947 – The United States Air Force becomes an independent branch of the United States Armed Forces.

1948 – Margaret Chase Smith of Maine becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate without completing another senator's term, when she defeats Democratic opponent Adrian Scolten.

1952 – Rick Pitino, American basketball player and coach is born.

1959 – Ryne Sandberg, American baseball player, Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer, coach, and manager is born.

1971 – Lance Armstrong, American cyclist and activist, founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation is born.

1984 – Joe Kittinger completes the first solo balloon crossing of the Atlantic.

1997 – United States media magnate Ted Turner donates US$1 billion to the United Nations.

2001 – First mailing of anthrax letters from Trenton, New Jersey in the 2001 anthrax attacks.

2009 – The 72-year run of the soap opera The Guiding Light ends as its final episode is broadcast.

2012 – Steve Sabol, American director and producer, co-founded NFL Films (b. 1942) dies.