On this date...

In 1926...NBC – the National Broadcasting Company – debuts on radio with a network of 24 stations. Its premiere program features Will Rogers and the New York Symphony Orchestra.

In 1931...The Bayonne Bridge opens, linking Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey.

In 1993...Robert Wagner Jr., the son of former Mayor Robert Wagner and heir to a New York political dynasty, dies of a heart attack at age 49. The former deputy mayor and school board president has been visiting Texas to research a book on the future of American cities.