1849 – Safety pin patented in New York City by Walter Hunt. He sold the rights for $400.
1912 – RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton for her maiden, and only, voyage.
1916 – The Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) is founded in New York City.
1924 – Tubular steel golf club shafts approved for championship play.
1930 – Thiokol synthetic rubber first produced in Yardley, New Jersey.
1938 – New York makes syphilis test mandatory in order to get a marriage license.
1947 – Jackie Robinson becomes first black player of the 20th century to sign a Major League Baseball contract. Brooklyn general manager Branch Rickey announces the Dodgers had bought Robinson’s contract from the Montreal Royals.
1956 – Phillips broadcasts first Dutch color TV programs.
1960 – Senate passes landmark Civil Rights Bill.
1961 – Washington Senators play first game in franchise history with President John F. Kennedy in attendance. The team loses a 4-3 decision to the Chicago White Sox.
1967 – 39th Academy Awards: “A Man For All Seasons,” Best Picture, Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Scofield best actress/actor.
1972 – United States, USSR and 70 other nations agree to ban biological weapons.
1979 – Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak: A tornado in Wichita Falls, Texas kills 42 people.
1985 – At 80, Leo Sites becomes oldest bowler to score a 300 game.
1991 – Los Angeles Kings’ Wayne Gretzky scores a National Hockey League record 93rd playoff goal.
1995 – New York City bans smoking in all restaurants that seat 35 or more.
2012 – Apple Inc. claims a value of $600 billion, making it the largest company by market capitalization in the world.
2017 – Alabama Governor Robert Bentley resigns over a relationship with an aid and possible misuse of state funds to cover it up.
2018 – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg begins testifying before Congress about data use and security.
2021 – China orders Alibaba to pay a record fine of 18.2 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) after anti-trust regulators say it has been acting as a monopoly.
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