On This Day in:

1634 – Samuel Cole opened the first tavern in Boston, MA.

1681 – England's King Charles II granted a charter to William Penn for an area that later became the state of Pennsylvania.

1766 – The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, which had caused bitter and violent opposition in the U.S. colonies.

1778 – The Continental Congress voted to ratify the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance. The two treaties were the first entered into by the U.S. government.

1789 – The first Congress of the United States met in New York and declared that the U.S. Constitution was in effect.

1791 – Vermont was admitted as the 14th U.S. state. It was the first addition to the original 13 American colonies.

1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress. The Amendment limited the jurisdiction of the federal courts to automatically hear cases brought against a state by the citizens of another state. Later interpretations expanded this to include citizens of the state being sued, as well.

1813 – The Russians fighting against Napoleon reached Berlin. The French garrison evacuated the city without a fight.

1826 – The first railroad in the U.S. was chartered. It was the Granite Railway in Quincy, MA.

1837 – The state of Illinois granted a city charter to Chicago.

1861 – The Confederate States of America adopted the 'Stars and Bars' flag.

1877 – Emile Berliner invented the microphone.

1880 – Halftone engraving was used for the first time when the 'Daily Graphic' was published in New York City.

1881 – Eliza Ballou Garfield became the first mother of a U.S. President to live in the executive mansion.

1902 – The American Automobile Association was founded in Chicago.

1904 – In Korea, Russian troops retreated toward the Manchurian border as 100,000 Japanese troops advanced.

1908 – The New York board of education banned the act of whipping students in school.

1914 – Dr. Gustave Le Fillatre successfully separated three-month-old Siamese twins. One of the twins died four days later.

1917 – Jeanette Rankin of Montana took her seat as the first woman elected to the House of Representatives.

1925 – Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office in Washington, DC. The presidential inauguration was broadcast on radio for the first time.

1930 – Emma Fahning became the first woman bowler to bowl a perfect game in competition run by the Women’s International Bowling Congress in Buffalo, NY.

1933 – U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt gave his inauguration speech in which he said 'We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.'

1933 – Labor Secretary Frances Perkins became the first woman to serve in a Presidential administrative cabinet.

1942 – The Stage Door Canteen opened on West 44th Street in New York City.

1947 – France and Britain signed an alliance treaty.

1950 – Walt Disney’s 'Cinderella' was released across the U.S.

1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman dedicated the 'Courier,' the first seagoing radio broadcasting station.

1952 – Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis were married.

1954 – In Boston, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital reported the first successful kidney transplant.

1974 – 'People' magazine was available for the first time.

1975 – Queen Elizabeth knighted Charlie Chaplin.