Today in history

1776: The amended Declaration of Independence, prepared by Thomas Jefferson, was approved and signed by John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress in America.

1817: Construction began on the Erie Canal, to connect Lake Erie and the Hudson River.

1845: American writer Henry David Thoreau began his two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond, near Concord, Mass.

1892: The first doubledecked street car service was inaugurated in San Diego, Calif.