1884 – Cornerstone for Statue of Liberty laid on Bedloe’s Island (NYC)
1915 – The Latin-American Conference Convenes in Washington, with representatives from leading South American nations joining the US to discuss conditions in Mexico
1936 – Italian athlete Ondina Valla runs a world record 11.6 in the semi finals of the 80m hurdles at the Berlin Olympics; wins final the next day but can’t match the time
1940 – St Louis Brown’s pitcher John Whitehead no-hits Detroit Tigers, 4-0 in 6 innings (rain shortened)
1948 – A Jamaican 1-2 in the men’s 400m at the London Olympics with Arthur Wint (46.2) beating teammate Herb McKenley for the gold medal
1959 – 42.4 cm rainfall in Decatur Co, Iowa (state record)
1984 – American Joan Benoit wins first Olympic marathon for women (2:24:52) ahead of Grete Waitz of Norway at the Los Angeles Games
1989 – NASA Venus probe Magellan launched from Space shuttle, 1st to do so
1995 – The city of Knin, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated as the day of victory (Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day) in Croatia.
2020 – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays the cornerstone for a new Hindu temple at Ayodhya Ram to replace a previous Muslim mosque