1782 – George Washington creates the Purple Heart medal (original name Badge of Military Merit) as commander of the Continental Army.
1882 – Hatfields of south West Virginia & McCoys of east Kentucky feud, 100 wounded or die.
1909 – US issues 1st Lincoln penny.
1929 – Babe Ruth ties record by hitting grand slams in consecutive games.
1939 – Millionaire Howard Hughes is presented with a Congressional Gold Medal.
1942 – 1st American offensive in Pacific in WWII, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
1946 – 1st US commemorative coin of an African American, Booker T. Washington (half dollar).
1953 – Eastern Airlines enters jet age, uses Electra prop-jet.
1959 – The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny goes into circulation. It replaces the “sheaves of wheat” design.
1961 – Soviet premier Khrushchev predicts USSR economy will surpass US.
1963 – Jacqueline Kennedy becomes 1st US First Lady to give birth (Patrick Kennedy) since Mrs. Cleveland.
1970 – 1st computer chess tournament.
1972 – Hall of Fame inducts Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, Lefty Gomez & Early Wynn.
1977 – “Shenandoah” closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 1,050 performances.
1981 – The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.
1989 – U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia.
1990 – Operation Desert Shield begins – US deploys troops to Saudi Arabia.
1997 – STS 85 (Discovery 23) launches into orbit.
2007 – “Eclipse” 3rd book in Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight Saga” is published by Little Brown – initial print run 1 million copies.
2010 – Jerry Rice is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
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