Boston Light, the first lighthouse in America was first lighted just before sunset. Located on Little Brewster Island to mark the entrance to Boston, Massachusetts, harbour, has guided ships since then. Building it was authorized 23 Jul 1715 by the Boston Light Bill. In the 1600s, treacherous rocks caused countless loss of lives. False signal fires lit in the wrong places by "wreckers" lured ships aground to plunder. Boston Light was blown up by the British in 1776, but rebuilt in 1783 by Governor John Hancock. The lighthouse is also the last remaining manned station in the U.S.

Workers led by Lech Walesa in the Gdansk shipyard in Poland seize control and demand pay raises and the right to form a union free from communist control. In September the Solidarity (Solidarnosc) Union was formed, the workers' first independent trade union, led by shipyard electrician Lech Walesa. This was the start of the movement that allowed Poland to end Communist Rule in the country.