1646 – Massachusetts uses death penalty for denying that Holy Bible is God’s word.
1841 – First wagon train arrives in California.
1845 – First nationally observed uniform election day in US.
1854 – Lighthouse built on Alcatraz Island.
1879 – African American inventor Thomas Elkins patents refrigerating apparatus.
1904 – First stadium build specifically for football (Harvard University).
1939 – First air conditioned automobile (Packard) exhibited, Chicago, Illinois.
1949 – “One Man’s Family” premieres on TV.
1951 – 9th Ryder Cup: US wins 9 1/2 – 21/2 at Pinehurst Resort (Pinehurst, NC, US).
1954 – “Fanny” opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 888 performances.
1960 – “Misfits” premieres, final movie for Clark Gable & Marilyn Monroe.
1968 – WRDU TV channel 28 in Raleigh-Durham, NC (NBC) 1st broadcast.
1976 – 1st mass-market free-agent reentry draft, Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Gullett, Tenance, Fingers, Baylor, Grich & McCovey, available.
1980 – Ronald Reagan (R) defeats incumbent US President Jimmy Carter (D) by a landslide.
1981 – Dr. George Nichopoulas is acquitted of overprescribing addictive drugs for Elvis Presley.
1987 – NBA announces 4 new franchises; Charlotte & Miami for 1988 & Minneapolis & Orlando for 1989.
1993 – Elton John awarded $518,700 from Sunday Mirror for a false report on his diet.
2003 – Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy becomes the first person indicted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. He was eventually acquitted.
2008 – Barach Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected President of the United States.
2014 – The US votes in mid-term elections: Republicans retain the house and regain the Senate.