1907 – Gene Autry, perhaps the greatest singing cowboy of all time, is born in Tioga, Texas. He learned to play the guitar and sing while still a boy and made his first recording in 1929. He made nearly 100 movies as a singing cowboy.
1939 – The nazis and communists divvy up Poland, with Germany taking everything west of the Bug River and the Soviets taking everything east.
1988 – Stacy Allison of Portland, Oregon, becomes the first American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, at 29,035 feet, the highest point on earth.
2008 – After Congress failed to pass a $700 billion bank bailout plan, the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points-at the time, the largest single-day point loss in its history.
