[Amnorix]

September 5

1698. In an effort to westernize his hopelessly backward country, Tsar Peter I (the Great) of Russia imposes a tax on the beards of his subjects, except clergy and peasantry.

1774. The First Continental Congress assembles, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1781. The tactically inconclusive but strategically critical Battle of Chesapeake, or the Battle of the Capes, occurs off the coast of the Carolinas between French and British warships. Though neither side wins a decisive victory, the battle effectively prevents the British from either resupplying or withdrawing the forces of Lord Cornwallis, soon to be trapped at Yorktown and to surrender to George Washington. The surrender of Cornwallis's forces will directly lead to the start of peace talks and the eventual recognition fo the independence of the British colonies.

1945. In one of the first signals of the coming Cold War, a Russian embassy clerks defects to Canada and reveals information regarding Soviet espionage in North America.

1960. Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, wins the gold medal in the Olympics in Rome.