1777 – France formally recognized the United States.
1903 – Orville Wright made history’s first sustained airplane flight, lasting 12 seconds and covering 120 feet near Kitty Hawk, N.C. His brother Wilbur flew 852 feet later that day.
1933 – The first NFL Championship Game is played at Wrigley Field between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears. The Bears won 23-21.
1967 – The Clean Air Act is signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
1989 – “The Simpsons” premiered on Fox.
1992 – President George H.W. Bush and the leaders of Mexico and Canada formally signed the North American Free Trade Treaty.
1997 – New Jersey became the first state in the United States to permit same-sex couples to adopt children.
2014 – The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.
