1776 British troops captured Fort Washington during the American Revolution.
1933 The United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations for the first time.
1973 President Nixon signed the Alaska Pipeline measure into law.
1997 China released Wei Jingsheng, a pro-democracy dissident, from jail for medical reasons. He had been incarcerated for almost 18 years.
1998 In Burlington, Wisconsin, five high school students were arrested in an alleged plot to kill a carefully selected group of teachers and students.
1998 It was announced that Monica Lewinsky had signed a book deal to tell about her affair with President Clinton.
1998 The U.S. Supreme Court said that union members could file discrimination lawsuits against employers even when labor contracts require arbitration.
1999 Johnny Depp received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1999 Chrica Adams, the pregnant girlfriend of Rae Carruth, was shot four times in her car. She died a month later from her wounds. The baby survived. Carruth was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years and 11 months in prison for his role in the murder.
2000 Bill Clinton became the first serving U.S. president to visit Communist Vietnam.