1776 - Peyton Randolph was laid to rest at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He had died on October 22, 1775, while representing Virginia in the second Continental Congress.
1789 - U.S. President Washington set aside this day to observe the adoption of the Constitution of the United States.
1941 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. In 1939 Roosevelt had signed a bill that changed the celebration of Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of November.
1962 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy presented a Navy Unit Commendation Medal to the Navy reconnaissance squadron VFP-62 for their work during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
1973 - Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court that she was responsible for the 18-1/2 minute gap in a key Watergate tape. Woods was U.S. President Nixon's personal secretary.
1975 - Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was found guilty by a federal jury in Sacramento, CA, for trying to assassinate U.S. President Ford on September 5.
1985 - The rights to Richard Nixon's autobiography were acquired by Random House for $3,000,000.
1986 - U.S. President Reagan appointed a commission headed by former Sen. John Tower to investigate his National Security Council staff after the Iran-Contra affair.
Revolutionary War Quote
"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time."
Thomas Jefferson