Today:
1779 – John Paul Jones, commanding the Bonhomme Richard, fought the British warship HMS Serapis in the Battle of Flamborough Head during the American Revolution. Jones ultimately captured the Serapis despite his own ship being badly damaged.
1806 – Meriwether Lewis and William Clark returned to St. Louis, completing the Lewis and Clark Expedition more than two years after setting out to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and the American West.
1846 – Astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle observed Neptune for the first time, using calculations by Urbain Le Verrier to locate the planet. It was a landmark achievement in astronomy because Neptune’s existence and location had been mathematically predicted before it was observed.
1889 – Nintendo was founded in Kyoto, Japan, by Fusajiro Yamauchi. The company originally produced handmade playing cards, decades before becoming one of the world’s best-known video game companies.
1932 – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was formally established by King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, unifying the regions he controlled under the new country’s name. September 23 is now celebrated as Saudi National Day.
1952 – Richard Nixon delivered his nationally televised “Checkers speech” while running as Dwight D. Eisenhower’s vice-presidential candidate. The address helped Nixon remain on the Republican ticket after controversy over a political expense fund.
1957 – Nine Black students entered Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, under federal protection, a major event in the desegregation of American public schools. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered federal troops to Little Rock the following day.
1962 – The Jetsons premiered on ABC. The futuristic animated series became an enduring depiction of what Americans imagined everyday life in the 21st century might look like.
1980 – Bob Marley performed what would prove to be his final concert, at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh. He died from cancer the following year at age 36.
1999 – NASA announced that it had lost contact with the Mars Climate Orbiter as the spacecraft attempted to enter orbit around Mars. Investigators later determined that a mix-up between metric and U.S. customary units contributed to the loss.