1138 – A massive earthquake strikes Aleppo.
1614 – Adriaen Block ( of Block Island fame ) and 12 Amsterdam merchants petition the States General for exclusive trading rights in the New Netherland colony.
1809 – Along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee, explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder’s Stand.
1811 – Inventor John Stevens’ boat, the Juliana, begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry (service between New York City, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey). He went on to found Steven’s Institute in Hoboken.
1910 – Former President Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane. He flew for four minutes with Arch Hoxsey in a plane built by the Wright brothers at Kinloch Field (Lambert-St. Louis International Airport), St. Louis, Missouri.
1918 – The 7.1 Mw San Fermín earthquake shakes Puerto Rico with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 76-116 people. A destructive tsunami contributed to the damage and loss of life.
1957 – Space Race: Operation Moonwatch scientists calculate Sputnik 1’s booster rocket’s orbit.
1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful manned Apollo mission, with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn F. Eisele and Walter Cunningham aboard.
1972 – A race riot occurs on the United States Navy aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk off the coast of Vietnam during Operation Linebacker.
1975 – The NBC sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live debuts.
1986 – Cold War: Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavík, Iceland, in an effort to continue discussions about scaling back their intermediate missile arsenals in Europe.
2001 – The Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection.
Births
1739 – Grigory Potemkin, Russian general and politician (d. 1791)
1835 – Theodore Thomas, American conductor, founded the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (d. 1905)
1844 – Henry J. Heinz, founded the H. J. Heinz Company (d. 1916)
1872 – Harlan F. Stone, 12th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1946)
1884 – Eleanor Roosevelt, 39th First Lady of the United States (d. 1962)
1905 – Fred Trump, American real estate entrepreneur (d. 1999)
1924 – André Emmerich, German-American art dealer (d. 2007)
Deaths
965 – Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne (b. 925)
1542 – Thomas Wyatt, English poet and diplomat (born 1503)
1779 – Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American general (b. 1745)
1961 – Chico Marx, American comedian (b. 1887)
1963 – Jean Cocteau, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1889)
1965 – Dorothea Lange, American photographer and journalist (b. 1895)
