time machine

9/17

1959,The X-15 rocket plane makes its first flight.

1976, The Space Shuttle is unveiled to the public.

9/18

1977, Voyager I takes first photo of Earth and the Moon together.

1971, Lance Armstrong (Lance Gunderson), cyclist; won record 7 Tour De France titles but was stripped of them and banned from competitive cycling for life after it was determined he had used performance-enhancing drugs.

9/19

1974, Jimmy Fallon was born, actor, comedian, musician, TV host (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon; currently scheduled to replace Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show in 2014).

1940, Paul Williams was born, composer, singer, songwriter, director, actor ("Evergreen," "Rainy Days and Mondays").

9/20

1784, Packet and Daily, the first daily publication in America, appears on the streets.

1806, Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark pass the French village of La Charette, the first white settlement they have seen in more than two years.

9/21

1327, Edward II of England is murdered by order of his wife.

1950, Bill Murray was born, actor; won Emmy for his work on Saturday Night Live TV series; movies include Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Lost in 
 Translation.

9/22

1862, President Lincoln issues a proclamation calling for all slaves within the rebel states to be freed on January 1, a political move that helps keep the British from intervening on the side of the South.

1869, The Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team, arrive in San Francisco after a rollicking, barnstorming tour of the West.

9/23

1806,  Lewis and Clark Expedition arrives back in St. Louis just over three years after its departure.

63 BC, Augustus Caesar is born, first Roman Emperor, who introduced Pax Romana, the era of peace.