– The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor. 1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008. 1901–present 1901 – Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of , a record that would stand for 20 years. 1906 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy. 1914 – World War I: The German minelayer lays a minefield about off the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser . 1914 – World War I: The guns of Point Nepean fort at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria (Australia) fire across the bows of the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer which is attempting to leave the Port of Melbourne in ignorance of the declaration of war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War. 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed. 1916 – World War I: Battle of Romani: Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula. 1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out. 1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping. 1940 – World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia. 1944 – World War II: At least 1,104 Japanese POWs in Australia attempt to escape from a camp at Cowra, New South Wales; 545 temporarily succeed but are later either killed, commit suicide, or are recaptured. 1944 – World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp (Gęsiówka) in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners. 1944 – World War II: The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland. 1949 – In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000. 1957 – American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage "baby-boomers" by playing the songs and showing popular dances