On this date in...

1757...American patriot Alexander Hamilton is born in the West Indies. Later, as a New Yorker, he will establish the Bank of New York and The New York Post.

1785...New York City becomes the new nation's capital when Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, meets at the Federal House in Lower Manhattan. The city remains the seat of the nation for five years, at which point Congress moves to Philadelphia and then the District of Columbia.