1859 – 1st successful oil well drilled, near Titusville, Pennsylvania, by Edwin Drake.
1881 – Hurricane hits Florida and Carolinas; about 700 die.
1894 – Congress passes Wilson-Gorman Tariff act, which includes a graduated income tax later struck down by the Supreme Court.
1913 – Swedish engineer Gideon Sundback of Hoboken applies to patent all-purpose zipper.
1927 – Parks College, America’s oldest aviation school, opens.
1928 – 16 die in a NYC subway’s 2nd worse accident.
1938 – Two NYC subway trains collide at 116th Street killing 2 and injuring 51.
1945 – US troops land in Japan after Japanese surrender.
1955 – “Guinness Book of World Records” 1st published.
1958 – Clark Griffith says Washington Senators baseball team will probably accept offer to move to Minnesota.
1961 – Francis the Talking Mule is mystery guest on “What’s My Line”
1962 – Mariner 2 launched; first probe to fly by Venus.
1966 – Francis Chichester begins 1st solo sail around world.
1972 – US bombs Haiphong, North Vietnam.
1978 – Yankee’s Catfish Hunter’s 6-2 win gives him a perfect 6-0 record in August 1978.
1984 – US President Ronald Reagan announces ‘Teacher in Space’ project.
1988 – Dodger Tommy Lasorda wins 1,000th game as manager, tops Philadelphia, 4-2.
1995 – Worst fire in New York in 80 years ends after 4 days.
2006 – Comar Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, bound for Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia killing 49 or 50 on board.
2008 – Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be nominated by a major political party for President of the United States.
