In 1782, Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States, featuring the emblem of the bald eagle.

In 1791, King Louis XVI of France and his family attempted to flee in the so-called Flight to Varennes but were caught.

In 1837, Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV.

In 1893, a jury in New Bedford, Mass., found Lizzie Borden not guilty of the ax murders of her father and stepmother.

In 1921, U.S. Rep. Alice Mary Robertson, R-Okla., became the first woman to preside over a session of the House of Representatives.

In 1943, race-related rioting erupted in Detroit; federal troops were sent in two days later to quell the violence that resulted in more than 30 deaths.

In 1944, during World War II, Japanese naval forces retreated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea after suffering heavy losses to the victorious American fleet.

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman vetoed the Taft-Hartley Act, which was designed to restrict the power of labor unions, but had his veto overriden by Congress.

In 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted and was sentenced to five years in prison. (Ali’s conviction was ultimately overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court).

In 1972, three days after the arrest of the Watergate burglars, President Richard Nixon met at the White House with chief of staff H.R. Haldeman; the secretly made tape recording of this meeting ended up with the notorious 18½-minute gap.

In 2011, Syrian President Bashar Assad promised a national dialogue to consider political reforms, but his vague overtures to a pro-democracy uprising fell flat as protesters took to the streets shouting “Liar!” and demanding his ouster. “Jackass” star Ryan Dunn was killed in a fiery car crash near Philadelphia at 34. The erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L. James was published by Vintage Books.

In 2014, the Obama administration granted an array of new benefits to same-sex couples, including those living in states where gay marriage was against the law; the new measures ranged from Social Security and veterans benefits to work leave for caring for sick spouses.

In 2016, Donald Trump abruptly fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in a dramatic shake-up designed to calm panicked Republican leaders and end an internal power struggle plaguing Trump’s White House bid.

A divided U.S. Supreme Court bolstered police powers, ruling 5-3 that evidence of a crime in some cases may be used against a defendant even if the police did something wrong or illegal in obtaining it. In 2019, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. surveillance drone in the Strait of Hormuz; it was the first time the Islamic Republic had directly attacked the U.S. military amid tensions over the unraveling nuclear deal. A U.S. official said preparations had been made for a strike against Iran in retaliation for the downing of the drone, but that the operation was called off with hours to go.

In 2020, at a rally in Tulsa, Okla., President Donald Trump defined the election as a choice between national heritage and left-wing radicalism.

A federal judge ruled that former national security adviser John Bolton could move forward with his tell-all book, despite efforts by the Trump administration to block the release.

In front of an empty grandstand, Tiz the Law won the Belmont Stakes in New York; the race normally marks the end of the Triple Crown series, but all three races were postponed due to the pandemic and the Belmont was run first.