1861 – The Union Army arrives to reinforce Washington, D.C. (Civil War)
1901 – New York becomes 1st state requiring license plates ($1 fee)
1914 – President Woodrow Wilson is persuaded by Argentina, Brazil, and Chile to accept mediation in the conflict with Mexico.
1928 – Buddy, a German Shepherd, becomes 1st guide dog for a US citizen, Morris Frank.
1945 – Last Boeing B-17 attack against Nazi Germany.
1950 – Chuck Cooper becomes the 1st African American to be drafted into the NBA (for Boston Celtics)
1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson’s discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is published in “Nature” magazine.
1957 – 1st experimental sodium nuclear reactor operated.
1961 – Mercury/Atlas rocket lifted off with an electronic mannequin.
1964 – “New Phil Silvers Show” last aired on CBS-TV.
1967 – Abortion legalized in Colorado.
1974 – NFL moves goalposts & adopts sudden-death playoff.
1978 – Supreme Court rules pension plans can’t require women to pay more.
1983 – “Nightline” expands from 1/2 hour to a full hour.
1988 – NASA launches space vehicle S-211.
1990 – 25th Academy of Country Music Awards: George Strait, Clint Black and Kathy Mattea win.
1994 – 14″ of snow in Southern California.
1997 – Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 250th HR.
2011 – At least 300 people killed in deadliest tornado outbreak in the Southern United States since the 1974 Super Outbreak.
2019 – Microsoft becomes the third US firm to be listed with a market worth of $1 trillion, after Apple and Amazon.