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On Sept. 9, 1971, prisoners seized control of the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York, taking 42 staff members hostage and demanding improvements to inmate treatment and living conditions.
Also on this date:
In 1776, the second Continental Congress formally adopted the name “United States of America,” replacing the “United Colonies of North America.”
In 1850, California was admitted as the 31st U.S. state.
In 1919, about 1,100 members of Boston’s 1,500-member police force went on strike. The strike was broken by Massachusetts Gov. Calvin Coolidge with replacement officers.
