1. In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone for the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. This iconic building has served as the home of the United States Congress since its completion over a century later in 1800.

2. In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed slave owners to claim escaped slaves in any state as their property and required citizens to help capture and return runaway slaves. The law was highly controversial and contributed to tensions between the North and South leading up to the Civil War.

3. In 1975, President Gerald Ford survived two assassination attempts in the same day. The first attempt was by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a member of the Manson family, who pointed a gun at Ford during a public appearance in Sacramento, California. The second attempt was by Sara Jane Moore, who fired a gun at the president in San Francisco.

4. In 2005, Hurricane Rita made landfall in Texas, causing widespread damage and power outages. The storm was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded, with winds reaching up to 180 miles per hour.

5. In 2014, a shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. left 12 people dead and several others injured. The shooter, Aaron Alexis, was a former Navy reservist who had been diagnosed with mental health issues and had a history of violent and erratic behavior. The incident highlighted concerns about mental health and gun control in the United States.