The Franklin National Bank closed due to fraud, the largest US bank to fail at the time.
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Northern California's wine country was devastated by sweeping wildfires.
Inventor Percy L. Spencer patented the Microwave Oven.
Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai became the first African female to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
The first Laurel and Hardy movie, 'The Second Hundred Years,' was released in the United States.
American Army Corporal Alvin York and seven men attacked a major German gun nest on their own during World War I.