In 1846: Congress chartered the Smithsonian Institution, named after English scientist James Smithson, whose bequest of $500,000 made it possible.

In 1921: Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio at his summer home on the Canadian island of Campobello.

In 1944: During World War II, American forces overcame Japanese resistance on Guam.

In 1977: postal employee David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, N.Y., accused of being the “Son of Sam” gunman responsible for six slayings and seven woundings.