- 1820 – Congress passes the Missouri Compromise, granting Missouri statehood as a slave state under the condition that slavery was to be forever prohibited in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36th parallel, which runs approximately along the southern border of Missouri.
- 1840 – Hin-mah-too-ya-lat-kekt, or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain, is born. Later known as Chief Joseph, he became Chief of the Nez Perce in 1871 following the death of his father.
- 1842 – The first US child labor law regulating working hours passes in Massachusetts.
- 1845 – Florida becomes the 27th state of the Union.
- 1847 – The US Post Office Department is authorized to issue postage stamps.
- 1871 – Hiram R. Revels is elected to the US Senate by the Mississippi legislature, becoming the first Black Senator.
- 1879 – Belva Lockwood becomes the first woman admitted to appear before the Supreme Court. She lobbied for six. years.
- 1887 – Helen Keller meets Anne Sullivan for the first time.
- 1902 – Sarah Rector is born. She was an African American member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, best known for being the “richest colored girl in the world.” Given her wealth, the Oklahoma Legislature declared her to be a White person, so that she would be allowed to travel in first-class accommodations on the railroad, as befitted her position.
- 1910 – John D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he can be devoted full time to being a philanthropist.
- 1912 – Isabella Goodwin is the first ever female municipal detective when she is promoted within the New York City police department.
- 1913 – The Women’s Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C. gathered over 8000 women asking for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote.
- 1923 – Time Magazine publishes its first issue.
- 1931 – The Star Spangled Banner becomes official US national anthem.
- 1962 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee is born.
- 1990 – Carole Gist is crowned the first Black Miss USA.
- 1991 – LAPD officers beat Rodney King on camera
- 2017 – Mass grave of 800 children and infants confirmed at a former Catholic care home in Tuam, Ireland.
