Congress created the Oregon Territory, which included Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Western Montana.
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Pakistan gained independence from the British Empire – a day before India's independence.
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, creating a government pension system for the retired.
Mudslides and flooding in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown claimed the lives of 1,141 people and left 3,00 without homes.
Singapore opened the world's first Summer Youth Olympics Games.
The New York Eye Infirmary opened, and it was the first specialty hospital of its kind in the western hemisphere.
