1776 – Americans begin shelling British troops in Boston.
1799 – Congress standardizes US weights and measures.
1819 – US passes its 1st immigration law.
1824 – Interstate commerce comes under federal control.
1853 – Territory of Washington organized after separating from Oregon Territory.
1866 – 1st US company to make sewing needles by machine incorporated, Conn.
1893 – 1st federal railroad legislation passed: required safety features.
1922 – WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio begins radio transmissions.
1933 – “King Kong” starring Fay Wray premieres at Radio City Music Hall & RKO Roxy, NYC.
1944 – 16th Academy Awards – “Casablanca”, Jennifer Jones & Paul Lukas win.
1958 – 1st surface crossing of Antarctic continent is completed in 99 days.
1965 – One of the most popular musical films of all time, “The Sound of Music”, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, is released (Best Picture 1966).
1969 – 1st test flight of the supersonic Concorde.
1970 – American Airlines’ 1st flight of a Boeing 747.
1974 – Grand jury concludes President Nixon is involved in Watergate cover-up.
1977 – Future Tonight Show host Jay Leno debuts with host Johnny Carson.
1983 – Compact Disk recordings developed by Phillips & Sony introduced.
1989 – Tanker Exxon Houston runs aground in Hawaii, spills 117,000 gallons of oil.
1991 – NC State Chris Corchiani becomes 1st NCAAer to get 1,000 assists.
2012 – Tornadoes kill at least 27 people in the American states of Indiana and Kentucky.