1813: First US raw cotton-to-cloth mill founded in Waltham, Mass.

1836: The Siege of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.

1861: Texas becomes the seventh state to secede from the union.

1883: Alabama becomes the first state to enact an antitrust law.

1903: Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States in perpetuity.

1947: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.

1983: The Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.

1998: Osama bin Laden declares jihad against all Jews and "Crusaders."

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