John Adams Jr. (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826)

On September 27, 1779, the Continental Congress appointed John
Adams to travel to France as minister plenipotentiary in charge
of negotiating treaties of peace and commerce with Great Britain
during the Revolutionary War.

Adams had traveled to Paris in 1778 to negotiate an alliance with
France, but had been unceremoniously dismissed when Congress
chose Benjamin Franklin as sole commissioner. 

After returning to Massachusetts in mid-1779, Adams was elected
as a delegate to the state convention to draw up a new constitution;
he was involved in these duties when he learned of the diplomatic
commission.

Signing the Preliminary Treaty of Peace at Paris, by Carl
Wilhelm Anton Seiler, 1904.

For the first time in U.S. history, a debate between major party
presidential candidates is shown on television.

The presidential hopefuls, John F. Kennedy, a Democratic senator
of Massachusetts and Richard M. Nixon, the vice president of
the United States, met in a Chicago studio to discuss U.S.
domestic matters.

TIM MAGUIRE

Actor/Producer Michael Douglas is 77 years old
today.

CAMILLE
BOHANNON

Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954)

In a surprisingly low-key and carefully worded statement, President
Harry S. Truman (above) informed the American people that the
Soviets exploded a nuclear bomb. The Soviet accomplishment,
years ahead of what was thought possible by most U.S. officials,
caused a panic in the American government. 

The United States developed the atomic bomb during the latter
stages of World War II and dropped two bombs on Japan in August
1945.