1788 – Connecticut becomes the fifth state to be admitted to the U.S.
1861 – Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union before the outbreak of the American Civil War.
1894 – New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts.
1947 – Elizabeth “Betty” Short, known as the Black Dahlia, is last seen alive.
2007 – Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveils the first iPhone.