Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1775

The U.S. Navy had its origins as the Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.

1792

The cornerstone of the Executive Mansion, later known as the White House, was laid during a ceremony in the District of Columbia.

1843

The Jewish organization B'nai B'rith was founded in New York City.

1845

Texas ratified a state constitution.

1943

Italy declared war on Germany, its one-time Axis partner.

1960

Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy participated in the third televised debate of their presidential campaign, with Nixon in Hollywood, Calif., and Kennedy in New York.

1960

Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run to lift the Pirates over the Yankees 10-9 in the seventh and deciding game of the World Series. It was the first time the World Series had ended on a home run.

1962

The play ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' by Edward Albee opened on Broadway.

1981

Voters in Egypt participated in a referendum to elect Vice President Hosni Mubarak the new president, one week after the assassination of Anwar Sadat.

1998

The National Basketball Association canceled the first two weeks of its regular season because of a lockout.

1999

In Boulder, Colo., the JonBenet Ramsey grand jury was dismissed after 13 months of work with prosecutors saying there wasn't enough evidence to charge anyone in the 6-year-old's strangulation.

1974

Longtime television host Ed Sullivan died in New York City at age 72.