1781: Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown
On this day in 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis formally surrenders 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a French and American force at Yorktown, Virginia, effectively bringing an end to the American Revolution and paving the way for American independence. Interestingly, as the British and Hessian troops marched out to surrender, the British band played the song "The World Upside Down." The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, formally recognized the United States as a free and independent nation.
1796: Editorial accuses Jefferson of affair with slave
On October 19, 1796, an essay appears in the Gazette of the United States in which a writer by the name of "Phocion" craftily attacks presidential candidate Thomas Jefferson, who was running against incumbent president John Adams in a bitter, contested campaign. That writer turned out to be none other than former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton -- the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Hamilton -- with whom he'd served in George Washington's first cabinet.
The ever-verbose Hamilton wrote 25 essays under the name Phocion for the Gazette over the next few weeks in which he fulminated against Jefferson and republicanism. He went on to accuse Jefferson of carrying on an affair with one of his slaves, which is believed to have been Sally Hemings. Jefferson opted not to respond to the allegations.
1985: First Blockbuster store opens
On this day in 1985, the first Blockbuster video-rental store opened in Dallas, Texas, with with roughly 8,000 tapes displayed on shelves as well as a computerized check-out process.
The first store was a success, and Blockbuster expanded rapidly in the years that followed. Soon it became one of the world's largest providers of in-home movies and games. And by 1988, Blockbuster was America's biggest video chain, with approximately 400 stores. Steep competition from the likes of competitors like Netflix led to the company's eventual demise.
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