1999

Actor Keanu Reeves, who brought laid-back charisma to
blockbusters like "Speed" and "The Matrix", is 61 years
old today.

In 1789, the First U.S. Congress established the Department of
the Treasury on September 2nd to manage government finances, creating a permanent institution after the Continental Congress‘s
prior efforts to fund the Revolutionary War through the issuance
of paper money.

This new department was part of Alexander Hamilton’s vision for
the new government, which included establishing national credit,
funding the national debt, and formulating economic policy.

Alexander Hamilton (1757 – 1804)

View of the east entrance of the first Treasury
Building in Washington, 1804.

The first automatic teller machine (ATM) in the U.S. was
installed at a Chemical Bank branch in Rockville Centre,
New York, on September 2, 1969, a date that revolutionized
the banking industry by allowing customers to withdraw cash
outside of traditional banking hours.

Developed by Don Wetzel and his company Docutel, this
machine was initially a cash dispenser, with more complex
features like deposits and account balance information added
to later models in 1971.