On This Day in:

1775 – The U.S. Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.

1792 – The cornerstone of the Executive Mansion was laid in Washington, DC. The building became known as the White House in 1818.

1812 – American forces were defeated at the Battle of Queenstown Heights. The British victory effectively ended an further U.S. invasion of Canada.

1843 – B'nai B'rith, the Jewish organization, was founded by Henry Jones and eleven others in New York City, NY.

1854 – The state of Texas ratified a state constitution.

1924 – The play 'The Guardsman' opened in New York City, NY.

1943 – During World War II, Italy signed an armistice with the Allies and declared war on Germany.

1944 – American troops entered Aachen, Germany, during World War II.

1944 – During World War II, British and Greek advance units landed at Piraeus.

1951 – In Atlanta, GA, a football with a rubber covering was used for the first time. Georgia Tech beat Louisiana State 25-7.

1953 – An ultrasonic burglar alarm was patented by Samuel Bagno.

1957 – Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra introduced the Ford Edsel on an hour long special.

1960 – The World Series ended on a home run for the first time.

Bill Mazeroski's homerun allowed the Pirates to beat the Yankees.

1962 – 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' opened on Broadway.

1967 – The first game of the new American Basketball Association was played.

1981 – Egyptian voters elected Vice President Hosni Mubarak as the new president one week after Anwar Sadat was assassinated.

1989 – U.S. President George H.W. Bush called for an overthrow of the Panamanian ruler Manuel Antonio Noriega.

1992 – A commercial flight record was set by an Air France supersonic jetliner for circling the Earth in 33 hours and one minute.

1995 – Walt Disney World Resort admitted its 500-millionth guest.

1998 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) canceled regular season games, due to work stoppage, for first time in its 51year history.

1999 – The U.S. Senate rejected the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

2010 – Near Copiapó, Chile, 33 miners were trapped underground in San José Mine. The miners were rescued after 69 days underground.

Rudolf Carl Virchow 1821 – Doctor, pathologist, biogist Wilbur Shaw 1902 – Racing driver Herblock (Herbert Lawrence Block) 1909 – Editorial cartoonist Cornel Wilde 1912 – Actor, director Burr Tillstrom 1917 – Puppeteer Laraine Day 1920 – Actress Lou Saban 1921 – Football player Lenny Bruce 1925 – Comedian, satirist Frank D. Gilroy 1925 – Playwright, screenwriter, director, film producer Margaret Thatcher 1925 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Eddie Yost 1926 – Baseball player Eddie Mathews 1931 – Baseball player Cliff Gorman 1936 – Actor Melinda Dillon 1939 – Actress (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) Paul Simon 1941 – Musician