- 1065 – Westminster Abbey consecrated
- 1793 – Thomas Paine, known for his role in the American Revolution, is arrested for treason in France
- 1856 – Woodrow Wilson is born. Known now as the ‘Father of Public Administration,’ he went on to become the 28th President of the United States.
- 1869 – U.S. Patent Office issued patent No. 98,304 to William Semple for chewing gum
- 1886 – U.S. Patent Office issued patent No. 355,139 to Josephine Garis Cochran for her invention of the “dish washing” machine. It should be a national holiday.
- 1894 – Burnita Matthews, suffragist, carried a banner outside the White House, gained admission to the bar in 1920, worked for the National Woman’s Party and was chosen as Federal District Court Judge by President Truman in 1949
- 1908 – The most destructive European earthquake ever recorded hits southern Italy
- 1922 – Stan Lee is born
- 1932 – Nichelle Nichols is born. She is perhaps best known for her groundbreaking role of Nyota Uhura on the original Star Trek.
- 1934 – Maggie Smith, award-winning actress, is born. She played Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies and Lady Violet Crawley in Downtown Abbey, among numerous other roles.
- 1945 – The Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted
- 1967 – Muriel Siebert becomes the first woman to own a seat on the N.Y. Stock Exchange
- 1973 – President Nixon signs the Endangered Species Act into law
- 1981 – Elizabeth Jordan Carr is born. She was the first American baby born after in vitro fertilization
