September 29, 1907 - At a ceremony attended by more than 20,000 people, including President Theodore Roosevelt, the cornerstone was laid at the Washington National Cathedral. The construction of the cathedral would last 83 years to the day and was completed on September 29, 1990, when the last finial was placed in the presence of President George H.W. Bush. Officially named the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the National Cathedral belongs to the Episcopal Church and is operated entirely by private funds. It is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world and the second-largest in the United States. The cathedral has hosted the funerals of four U.S. Presidents: Woodrow Wilson (1924), Dwight Eisenhower (1969), Ronald Reagan (2004), and Gerald Ford (2007).  

September 30, 1927 - Babe Ruth became the first baseball player to hit 60 home runs in a season, surpassing his own record of 59 set in 1921. Ruth was the leader of the famous 1927 Yankees, also known as Murderer's Row because of the strength of its hitting lineup, which also featured such baseball greats as Lou Gehrig and Earle Combs. The team won a record-setting 110 games, took the American League pennant by 19 games and went on to sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. As the regular season drew to a close and with the pennant race already decided, the nation turned its attention to Ruth's pursuit of a new home run record. Ruth had expressed his doubts about achieving the record, blaming his slow start in the season and the fact that pitchers rarely pitched to him. However, his hitting took off and he hit 17 home runs in September alone. His record-setting hit came in the second-to-last game of the season against the Washington Senators. Ruth's record stood for 34 years before he was edged by fellow Yankee Roger Maris; however, Ruth's reign as home run king actually lasted a total of 42 years as he first set the record with 29 home runs 1919. The current home run king is Barry Bonds, who hit 73* home runs in 2001.

*performance enhanced  

September 30, 1955 - James Dean, the actor best known for his performance in the film Rebel Without a Cause, died in an automobile accident while traveling to a car race. At the age of 24 the handsome Dean burst onto the silver screen with an Academy Award nominated performance in East of Eden. Prior to taking the leading roles in Rebel and Eden Dean had only performed in a handful of uncredited extra roles. Dean's final movie performance was the lead in the 1956 film Giant, for which he received a posthumous Academy Award nomination. Despite only having three leading roles, all released within a two-year period, Dean has become a cultural icon, mostly due to his tragic and premature death.  

Dean started participating in car races after getting his part in East of Eden. On the day of his death, Dean was driving his Porsche 550 Spyder to the racetrack in Salinas, California. While traveling west on U.S. Route 466 Dean collided head-on with a Ford Tudor coupe driven by a 23-year-old Cal Poly student which had crossed into his lane while turning onto State Route 41. The impact resulted in Dean suffering a broken neck, plus multiple fractures of the jaw, arms and legs, as well as massive internal injuries. He was taken to Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 5:59 p.m. Fellow actor Alec Guinness predicted Dean's demise. Seven days before the accident, the two men were talking  outside the Villa Capri restaurant in Hollywood. Dean showed off his Porsche 550 Spyder to Guinness, who thought the car appeared 'sinister' and told Dean: "If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week."

-- Babe Ruth, after hitting his record-setting 60th home run.