Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, Ellis Island opens, the Rose Bowl becomes the first college bowl game, Hank Williams dies, and the Y2K panic fizzles out, all on this day.
2 / 36
Library of Congress
1752: Betsy Ross is born Elizabeth Griscom in Philadelphia, Pa. Ross is widely credited with making the first American flag, although there is no credible historical evidence that the story is true.