TODAY

· 1963 - Four children were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at a black Baptist church in Birmingham, Ala.

· 2001 - President George W. Bush identified Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and told Americans to prepare for a long, difficult war against terrorism.

TUESDAY

· 1630 - The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changed its name to Boston.

· 1810 - Mexicans began their revolt against Spanish rule.

· 1787 - The U.S. Constitution was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the constitutional convention in Philadelphia.

· 2001 - Wall Street trading resumed for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - its longest shutdown since the Depression; the Dow lost 684.81 points, its worst ever one-day point drop. Pro sporting events resumed after a six-day hiatus.

THURSDAY

· 1793 - President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.

· 1851 - The first edition of The New York Times was published.

FRIDAY

· 1881 - The 20th president of the United States, James A. Garfield, died of wounds inflicted by an assassin.

· 1985 - The Mexico City area was struck by the first of two devastating quakes that claimed some 6,000 lives.