1801 – US House of Representatives breaks electoral college tie by electing Thomas Jefferson as President over Aaron Burr.
1878 – 1st telephone exchange in San Francisco opens with 18 phones.
1913 – 1st minimum wage law in US takes effect (Oregon)
1926 – Avalanche buries 75 in Sap Gulch, Bingham, Utah, 40 die.
1933 – First issue of news magazine “Newsweek” is published.
1943 – Dow Chemical and Corning Glass Works form a joint venture to explore and produce silicon materials, based off of the work of James Franklin Hyde.
1947 – Voice of America begins broadcasting to USSR.
1955 – American golfer Mike Souchek sets PGA 72-hole record of 257 (not broken until 2001)
1958 – Comic strip “BC” 1st appears.
1959 – 1st weather satellite lauched, Vanguard 2, 9.8 kg.
1964 – US Supreme Court rules – 1 man 1 vote (Westbury v Sanders)
1968 – Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, Massachusetts opens.
1970 – Army officer Jeffrey MacDonald murders his pregnant wife and two small daughters.
1980 – 22nd Daytona 500: Buddy Baker wins ahead of Bobby Allison and Neil Bonnett.
1986 – Johnson & Johnson announces it will no longer sell capsule drugs.
1995 – Federal judge allows lawsuit claiming US tobacco makers knew nicotine was addictive & manipulated its level to keep customers hooked.
2004 – “If I Ain’t Got You” single released by Alicia Keys (Grammy Award Best Female R&B Vocal Performance 2005, Billboard Song of the Year 2004)
2013 – 62nd NBA All-Star Game, Toyota Centre, Houston, TX: West beats East 143-138; MVP; Chris Paul, LA Clippers, G.
2014 – US Secretary of State John Kelly claims climate change requires urgent action and that only a small “window of time” remains open.
2021 – Texan Senator Ted Cruz flies to Cancun, Mexico with his family amid a winter disaster in his state, igniting widespread condemnation.