On this day: September 4
Los Angeles is founded, Arkansas' governor calls out the National Guard to prevent the integration of a Little Rock school, swimmer Mark Spitz sets a new Olympic gold medal mark, and Google is founded, all on this day.
1781: Los Angeles, Calif., is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola) by 44 Spanish settlers. The settlement remained a small ranch town for decades, but by 1820 the population had increased to about 650 residents.
1781: Los Angeles, Calif., is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola) by 44 Spanish settlers. The settlement remained a small ranch town for decades, but by 1820 the population had increased to about 650 residents.
1846: Architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham, who took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington, D.C., and designed several famous buildings, including the Flatiron Building in New York City and Union Station in Washington, D.C., is born in Henderson, N.Y.
1862: Gen. Robert E. Lee takes the Army of Northern Virginia, and the American Civil War, into the North.
1886: After almost 30 years of fighting, Apache leader Geronimo, with his remaining warriors, surrenders to Gen. Nelson Miles in Skeleton Canyon, Ariz.
1888: George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film.
1893: English author Beatrix Potter first tells the story of "Peter Rabbit" in a letter to the eldest son of her former governess Annie Carter Moore.
1908: Author Richard Wright, whose work, including "Black Boy" and "Native Son," helped redefine discussions of race relations in America in the mid-20th century, is born in Roxie, Miss.
1923: The maiden flight of the first U.S. rigid airship, the USS Shenandoah, takes place.
1939: A Bristol Blenheim is the first British aircraft to cross the German coast following the declaration of World War II and German ships are bombed.
1941: A German submarine makes the first attack against a United States ship, the USS Greer, three months before the United States officially entered World War II. The incident led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue what became known as his "shoot-on-sight" order.
1951: In the first live coast-to-coast TV broadcast, President Harry S. Truman addresses the nation from the Japanese peace treaty conference in San Francisco.
1957: Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus calls out the National Guard to prevent African-American students from enrolling in Central High School.
1957: The Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel. The car turns out to be so unpopular that it is taken off the market after only two years.
1960: Actor and comedian Damon Wayans ("In Living Color," "My Wife and Kids") is born in New York City.
1962: The Beatles begin recording at EMI's Abbey Road Studios for the first time, recording "Love Me Do."
1964: The Animals give their debut performance at the U.S. Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, N.Y.
1967: "Gilligan's Island" airs for the last time. The sitcom ran for 98 shows over three seasons.
1970: George Harrison releases "My Sweet Lord."
1970: The Rolling Stones release their live album "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out." The album is the first live album to reach No. 1 in the United Kingdom.
1972: Swimmer Mark Spitz captures his seventh Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter medley relay event at Munich, Germany, becoming the first Olympian to win seven gold medals.
1981: Singer and actress Beyoncé Knowles is born in Houston, Texas.
1991: Country singer Dottie West dies at the age of 58 from injuries she suffered in a car accident five days earlier. West was the first female country Grammy winner.
1993: New York Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott, who was born without a right hand, pitches a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. Abbott, who retired in 1999 after nine seasons in the major leagues, is seen here in 2008.
1998: Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University.
2001: Tokyo DisneySea opens to the public as part of the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan. The park, which has an overall nautical exploration theme to it, is the most expensive theme park ever built, estimated to have cost more than $4 billion.
2006: Australian wildlife expert and TV personality Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin dies after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary film at the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44 years old.
2008: Sen. John McCain accepts the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in St. Paul, Minn.
