1862 – President Abraham Lincoln signs into law the Homestead Act to provide cheap land for the settlement of the American West (80 million acres by 1900)
1892 – George Sampson patents clothes dryer.
1899 – First speeding infraction by a New York cabbie driving an electric car – 12 mph down Lexington Street.
1916 – Saturday Evening Post cover features Norman Rockwell painting.
1926 – Congress passes Air Commerce Act, licensing of pilots & planes.
1927 – At 7:40 AM, Charles Lindbergh takes off from New York to cross the Atlantic for Paris, aboard Spirit of St. Louis in the 1st solo nonstop transatlantic flight.
1939 – “3 Little Fishies” by Kay Kyser swam to #1.
1950 – 75th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro aboard Hill Prince wins in 1:59.2.
1959 – Ford wins battle with Chrysler to call its new car “Falcon”
1967 – 10,000 demonstrate against war in Vietnam.
1970 – 100,000 march in New York supporting US policies in Vietnam.
1979 – “I Love My Wife” closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 864 performances.
1985 – Dow Jones industrial average closes above 1,300 for 1st time.
1986 – Flintstones 25th Anniversary Celebration airs on CBS-TV.
1989 – Premiere of sports fantasy drama film “Field of Dreams”, based on W.P. Kinsella’s novel “Shoeless Joe”, starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta and Burt Lancaster in his final film role.
1997 – Chicago White Sox baseball player Frank Thomas reaches base safely for 15th straight time.
2004 – Cult romantic film “The Notebook” premieres at the Seattle Film Festival, starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling and directed by Nick Cassavetes.
2013 – Yahoo purchases Tumbler for $1.1 Billion.
2015 – David Letterman hosts the “Late Show with David Letterman” for the last time, ending 33 years in late night television.
2020 – WHO reports most new cases in a single day – 106,000 worldwide of COVID-19.
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