On this date in . . .

1789: The U.S. Constitution went into effect as the first Federal Congress met in New York. The lawmakers then adjourned for lack of a quorum.

1793: At the inauguration for his second term, President George Washington delivered the briefest inaugural address ever — 133 words.

1837: The state of Illinois granted a city charter to Chicago. Population: 4,170. It had be incorporated as town on August 12,1833.

1849: David Atchison became President of the U.S. for one day when Zachary Taylor refused to be sworn in on a Sunday.

1877: Emile Berliner patented the microphone, an invention that would make the new-fangled telephone a success.

1924: The song "Happy Birthday to You" was published.

1942: Shirley Temple debuted as "Junior Miss" on CBS radio. The show cost $12,000 a week to produce and stayed on the air until 1954.

1943: The film "Mrs. Miniver" won six Academy Awards. Title actress Greer Garson took 5½ minutes to accept her Oscar, the "thank-you" record.

1950: Walt Disney introduced the movie, "Cinderella." In the movie she wore glass slippers. In the original story, she wore fur slippers.

1952: Actor Ronald Reagan married actress Nancy Davis at San Fernando Valley, California.

1966: Singer John Lennon created an international controversy when he said the Beatles "are probably bigger than Jesus right now."

1976: Hall & Oates recorded "Rich Girl."

1980: The movie bio of Loretta Lynn, "Coal Miner’s Daughter," premiered in Nashville, earning actress Sissy Spacek an Oscar for Best Actress and a top 25 country hit with Sissy’s own version of the title song.

1993: The Wall Street Journal announced that in a stock-picking contest between professional stock analysts and Journal employees, the employees’ portfolio had gained 15%, while the pros’ portfolio had lost 26%. Journal employees had picked their stocks by throwing darts at stock market tables.

1995: Police in Bankok charged 75 students with conspiring to cheat on the Thai army college entrance exam. Test answers were being transmitted to radio receivers in their underwear.

2005: Homemaker personality Martha Stewart returned home after serving five months in a federal prison for lying about a stock sale and began five months of home confinement.

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