1492 – Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall in the Caribbean, specifically in The Bahamas. The explorer believes he has reached the Indies.
1692 – The Salem witch trials are ended by a letter from Massachusetts Governor William Phips.
1773 – America's first insane asylum opens.
1792 – The first celebration of Columbus Day is held in New York City.
1793 – The cornerstone of Old East, the oldest state university building in the United States, is laid on the campus of the University of North Carolina.
1823 – Charles Macintosh of Scotland sells the first raincoat.
1860 – Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American engineer and businessman, co-invented the gyrocompass (d. 1930) is born.
1870 – Robert E. Lee, American general (b. 1807) dies.
1892 – The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited by students in many US public schools, as part of a celebration marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage.
1901 – President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House.
1918 – A massive forest fire kills 453 people in Cloquet, Minnesota.
1921 – Art Clokey, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor, created Gumby (d. 2010) is born.
1923 – Jean Nidetch, American businesswoman, co-founded Weight Watchers (d. 2015) is born.
1928 – An iron lung respirator is used for the first time at Children's Hospital, Boston.
1933 – The military Alcatraz Citadel becomes the civilian Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary.
1969 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater and actress (b. 1912) dies.
1970 – Vietnam War: US President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will withdraw 40,000 more troops before Christmas
1979 – The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams is published.
1996 – René Lacoste, French tennis player and fashion designer, co-founded Lacoste (b. 1904) dies.
1998 – Matthew Shepard, a gay student at University of Wyoming, dies five days after he was beaten, robbed and left tied to a wooden fence post outside of Laramie, Wyoming.
1999 – Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player and coach (b. 1936) dies.
2000 – The USS Cole is badly damaged in Aden, Yemen, by two suicide bombers, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39.
2003 – Bill Shoemaker, American jockey (b. 1931) dies.
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