On this date in history:

In 1788, it was announced in the U.S. Congress that the new Constitution had been ratified by the required nine states, the ninth being New Hampshire.

In 1839, slaves being shipped to Cuba revolted and seized the ship Amistad, leading to an eventual end of the African slave market.

In 1881, U.S. President James Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a mentally unstable lawyer and office-seeker. (Garfield died Sept. 19 and was succeeded by Vice President Chester Arthur. Guiteau was convicted and hanged in 1982.)

In 1900, the world's first rigid airship was demonstrated by Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin in Germany.

In 1934, 6-year-old Shirley Temple signed a contract with Fox Film Corp. (She went on to become one of the biggest movie stars of the era.)

In 1937, U.S. aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Frederick Noonan were reported lost over the Pacific Ocean. (They were never found.)

In 1962, the first Walmart store opened -- in Rogers, Ark.

In 1964, the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law with the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

In 1976, North and South Vietnam reunited, forming the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed numerical hiring goals for minorities, rejecting the Reagan administration view that affirmative action be limited to proven victims of race discrimination.

In 1990, a stampede in a pedestrian tunnel at the Muslim holy city of Mecca during the annual hajj killed 1,426 pilgrims.

In 1993, South African President F.W de Klerk and African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela announced that the country's first election open to all races would be April 27, 1994.

In 1994, a Colombian soccer player who inadvertently scored a goal for the United States, contributing to his team's loss in World Cup competition, was shot to death in Medellin, Colombia.

In 2000, Vicente Fox was elected president of Mexico.

In 2002, American Steve Fossett completed the first round-the-world solo flight in a balloon, reaching Queensland in the Australian outback to finish a 13-day, 19,428-mile trip that began in Western Australia.

In 2004, medical reports said post-traumatic stress disorder was appearing in 1-in-6 U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq.

In 2009, India's ban on homosexuality, in effect since 1861, was overturned by New Delhi's highest court.

In 2013, in announcing an Affordable Care Act delay, U.S. officials said a mandate that larger employers provide health coverage for their workers, or pay penalties, would not be enforced until 2015.

In 2014, U.S. officials announced that security would be tightened for some flights headed to the United States from the Middle East and Europe because intelligence reports indicated an increased threat by terrorists.

Copyright 2015 by United Press International