Today:
1692 – The last executions of the Salem witch trials took place in Massachusetts. Eight people were hanged, bringing the total number executed during the trials to 20.
1776 – Nathan Hale was executed by the British in New York City for spying on behalf of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He is traditionally remembered for the words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
1862 – President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that enslaved people in states still in rebellion on January 1, 1863, would be “then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
1888 – The first issue of National Geographic Magazine was published, nine months after the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, D.C.
1927 – Gene Tunney defeated Jack Dempsey in their heavyweight championship rematch in Chicago. The fight became famous for the controversial “Long Count,” when Tunney was given extra time to recover after being knocked down.
1955 – Commercial television broadcasting began in the United Kingdom with the launch of ITV, ending the BBC’s television monopoly.
1961 – President John F. Kennedy signed legislation establishing the Peace Corps as a permanent federal agency. The program had initially been created by executive order earlier that year.
1975 – Sara Jane Moore attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford outside a hotel in San Francisco. A bystander grabbed her arm as she fired a second shot, and Ford was unharmed.
1980 – Iraq invaded Iran, beginning the Iran-Iraq War. The conflict lasted nearly eight years and resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
1994 – The television sitcom Friends premiered on NBC. The series ran for 10 seasons and became one of the most popular and influential sitcoms in television history.