Wednesday, the Dow lost 100.72 points (0.39%) to finish at 25,776.61, the NASDAQ closed 34.88 points (0.45%) lower at 7,750.84, and the S&P 500 was down 8.09 points (0.28%) at 2,856.27. The Russell 2000 decreased 13.62 points (0.88%) to 1,531.63, and the Wilshire 5000 fell 110.03 points (0.37%) to 29,476.82.

ON THIS DATE: In 1701, in London, Captain William Kidd was hanged after being convicted of murder and piracy. In 1785, Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter that he had invented bifocals. In 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1876, Boston’s Joe Borden pitched the very first no-hitter in the history of the National League. In 1879, the first U.S. veterinary school was established by Iowa State University. In 1895, the New York Public Library was created with an agreement that combined the city’s existing Astor and Lenox libraries. In 1900, Civil War hero Sgt. William H. Carney became the first African American to receive the Medal of Honor, 37 years after the Battle of Fort Wagner. In 1934, in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed and killed by Texas Rangers. In 1937, industrialist John D. Rockefeller died. In 1949, the Republic of West Germany was established. In 1999, Gerry Bloch, at age 81, became the oldest climber to scale El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He broke his own record that he set in 1986 when he was 68 years old.