1774 – First sighting of Orion nebula by William Herschel
1789 – 1st US Congress meets and declares constitution in effect (9 senators, 13 reps)
1791 – Vermont admitted as 14th state (1st addition to the 13 colonies)
1792 – Oranges introduced to Hawaii
1793 – French troops conquer Geertruidenberg, Netherlands
1954 – James E. Wilkins appointed 1st black US sub-cabinet member
1966 – North Sea Gas 1st pumped ashore by BP
1968 – Joe Frazier takes his record to 20-0 and captures vacant world heavyweight boxing title; stops Buster Mathis in 11th round TKO at Madison Square Garden, NYC
1982 – Bertha Wilson is appointed as first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada
1993 – Katharine Hepburn admitted to hospital suffering from exhaustion