America’s first automobile was not built by a Henry Ford or Walter Chrysler, but by Charles and Frank Duryea, two bicycle makers. Charles spotted a gasoline engine at the 1886 Ohio State Fair and became convinced that an enginedriven carriage could be built. The two brothers designed and built the car together, working in a rented loft in Springfield, Massachusetts. After two years of tinkering, Charles and Frank Duryea showed off their home invention on the streets of Springfield, the first successful run of an automobile in the U.S.

September 23, 1930: Name That Tune Break out the birthday blues for R&B pioneer Ray Charles. Born in 1930, Ray Charles (Robinson) broke ground by fusing gospel with blues and other secular musical styles. He went on to score a number of successes, including his 1950s hit song “Greenbacks,” in which he rhapsodized about “those little pieces of paper coated with chlorophyll.”

September 24, 1961: I Love Lucy’s last episode Beloved sitcom I Love Lucy airs its last episode. The show, created by Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, ran for 10 years. Ball, a former Hollywood starlet and radio actress, had insisted that Arnaz be cast as her husband on I Love Lucy despite the fact that network executives insisted no one would believe a white American actress would be married to a Cuban bandleader. Desi and Lucy filmed a pilot before a live audience to convince network executives that audiences responded well to their act, and CBS agreed to cast Desi for the show.

September 25, 1913: Chaplin signs with Keystone Twenty-four year old Charlie Chaplin signs with Keystone, a production company known for its silent comedies, where he will make more than a dozen movies in the next year alone.

September 26, 1960: First Kennedy-Nixon debate For the first time in U.S. history, a debate between major party presidential candidates is shown on television. The presidential hopefuls, John F. Kennedy, a Democratic senator of Massachusetts, and Richard M. Nixon, the vice president of the United States, met in a Chicago studio to discuss U.S. domestic matters.

September 27, 1983: A Chorus Line breaks record A Chorus Line becomes the longest-running Broadway musical to date, when its 3,389th performance breaks the record previously held by Grease. A Chorus Line opened July 25, 1975, and was seen by more than 6.5 million people. The show, which won a Pulitzer and nine Tony awards, was made into a movie in 1985.

September 28, 1991: Miles Davis dies Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis dies in Santa Monica, California, at age 65. The son of a St. Louis dentist, Davis began playing trumpet at age 13 and was playing with local jazz bands by his late teens. Davis struggled with heroin addiction but kicked the habit by 1954, the year he began releasing successful singles, including “Blue ‘n’ Boogie” and “Walkin’.” In the 1960s, Davis became interested in rock and began fusing jazz and rock to create an innovative sound. Davis continued to produce popular recordings until his 60s. He died of pneumonia and other ailments.