1807: Robert Fulton's first American steamboat leaves New York City for Albany on the Hudson River, becoming the first commercial steamboat service in the world. Thousands of commuting New Yorkers flock to the ferry and immediately begin urinating on it.

1953: First meeting of Narcotics Anonymous in Southern California... now known as the Writer's Guild of America.

1969: Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and causing $1.5 billion in damage. Even though he is not yet president, the news media blames George W. Bush.