This Week in History

September 20, 1973

Despite Bobby Riggs’s boast that he could beat any female tennis player, the former No. 1 ranked men’s player loses to top women’s player Billie Jean King.

September 22, 1862

President Abraham Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, setting the date for the freedom of more than three million black slaves in the U.S.

September 24, 1789

The Judiciary Act of 1789 establishes the Supreme Court of the U.S. as a tribunal made up of six justices to serve on the court until death or retirement.