In 1775, the Continental Congress ordered construction of America's first naval fleet.
In 1792, the cornerstone to the White House in Washington was laid. (It would be November 1800 before the first presidential family -- that of John Adams -- moved in.)
In 1903, the Boston Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the first World Series, five games to three.
In 1917, as many as 100,000 people gathered in Fatima, Portugal, for the "Miracle of the Sun" and its strange solar activity and, for many, a reported glimpse of the Virgin Mary.
In 1943, conquered by the Allies, Italy declared war on Germany, its former partner.
In 1972, more than 170 people were killed in a Soviet airliner crash near Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport.
In 1987, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize -- the first winner from Central America.
In 1994, two months after the Irish Republican Army announced a cease-fire. Protestant paramilitaries in Northern Ireland did the same.
In 2003, renowned U.S. jockey Bill Shoemaker, winner of nearly 9,000 races, died at his home in San Marino, Calif. He was 72.
In 2006, U.S. Rep. Robert Ney, R-Ohio, the only congressman charged in a Washington lobbying scandal, pleaded guilty to conspiracy. (He served 17 months of a 30-month prison sentence.) In 2010, after more than two months entombed half a mile under the Chilean desert, the first of 33 trapped miners was pulled to safety in a narrow passageway drilled through more than 2,000 feet of rock, to be followed in the next 24 hours by the rest of the crew in a dramatic finale to a remarkable rescue mission.
In 2012, authorities in Afghanistan said a suicide bomber killed at least seven Afghan intelligence officers in Kandahar province, and five security guards employed by a private company died in coordinated terrorist bombings in Zabul province
In 2013, a stampede by masses of worshipers crossing a bridge over the Sindh River at a Hindu festival in India's Madhya Pradesh state killed more than 100 people and injured scores of others. A police official said people panicked as rumors spread that the bridge was collapsing.
A thought for the day: "Desire is the most important factor in the success of any athlete." -- Bill Shoemaker
