1501 – Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David.
1788 – The Philadelphia Convention sets the date for the first presidential election in the United States, and New York City becomes the country’s temporary capital.
1814 – The British fail to capture Baltimore during the War of 1812. During the battle, Francis Scott Key composes his poem “Defence of Fort McHenry,” which is later set to music and becomes the U.S. national anthem.
1899 – Henry Bliss is the first person in the U.S. to be killed in an automobile accident.
1948 – Republican Margaret Chase Smith is elected to the U.S. Senate, and becomes the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. She represented Maine as a Republican.
2001 – Secretary of State Colin Powell named Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in the 9/11 terror attacks.
