- Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear and was disqualified from the match and suspended from boxing. (1997) The famous bite occurred during a Las Vegas World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title fight where he actually bit both of Holyfield's ears during round three before being disqualified. Tyson became the youngest heavyweight boxing champion when he was just 19 years old; his career began a bizarre downward spiral in 1989, with fist fights and a rape conviction, among other things.
- World War I began and ended. (1914 and 1919) A Serb nationalist— Gavrilo Princip — assassinated Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, Sofia on this day; the assassination was one of the major triggers of the war. Exactly five years later, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, which officially ended the war. Fighting ceased on November 11, 1918.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Los Angeles Angels without getting a hit. (2008) The Dodgers got their only run when Matt Kemp was sent to first on an error, stole second base, ran to third on a throwing error and ran home on a sacrifice fly ball. It's only the fifth time in major league baseball history such a win has occurred.
- The United State Supreme Court ruled the Boy Scouts can ban homosexual boys from becoming troop leaders. (2000) The court voted 5-4 for the ban in the Boy Scouts of America v. James Dale case. The ruling didn't specifically state the Boy Scouts could ban gay members in general, but the language left room for interpretation. The Court defended its ruling, stating forcing the Boy Scouts to allow gay boys to lead troops would violate their First Amendment rights.
- The United States Congress made Labor Day an official federal holiday. (1894) The day was first celebrated, unofficially, on September 5, 1882. After several worker deaths during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland wanted to reconcile and the proposed holiday was pushed through Congress and signed six days after the strike ended.
- Malcom X formed the Organization of Afro-American Unity. (1964) The organization fought not only for the rights of African Americans, but for cooperation between the races. The organization had barely been started before Malcom X was assassinated in 1965 and it dissolved shortly after his death.
- The American Bald Eagle was taken off the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. (2007) The United States national bird was put on the endangered species list in 1967. After a series of government actions, including banning the use of DDT, the Bald Eagle population began to increase. It was taken off the U.S. governments endangered species list in 1995 and classified as threatened.
- Two film companies merged and Paramount Pictures was born. (1916) The Famous Players Film Company and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company joined forces to become the Famous Players-Lasky Company, which later was renamed Paramount Pictures. It is the oldest film studio in the U.S. and one of the most successful studios in history.
- U.S. President James Madison died. (1836) Madison was the fourth president of the United States and was one of the Founding Fathers and main author of Constitution.
- The world's first officiated dog show was held. (1859) The show was held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England. Only pointer and setter breeds participated.
