1821 – Kentucky abolishes debtors’ prisons.
1900 – New Ellis Island Immigration station completed costing $1.5 million.
1903 – The Wright Brothers make the 1st sustained motorized aircraft flight at 10:35 AM, piloted by Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
1924 – 1st US diesel electric locomotive enters service, Bronx, NY.
1927 – US submarine S-4 sinks after collision killing all 34 aboard.
1933 – National Football League Championship – 1st title game, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat New York Giants, 23-21; “Bronko Nagurski Rule” – forward pass is legal anywhere behind the line of scrimmage.
1935 – 1st flight of the Douglas DC-3 (C-47 Skytrain/Dakota) airplane.
1936 – Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen & dummy Charlie McCarthy, appear on TV.
1944 – US destroyers sink in storm off Philippines, killing 790.
1953 – US Federal Communication Commission approves RCA’s black & white-compatible color TV specifications.
1957 – The last episode of the Nat King Cole Show airs on NBC due to lack of national sponsorship.
1965 – Largest newspaper-Sunday NY TImes at 946 pages (50 cents)
1976 – Superstation WTBS in Atlanta went national.
1983 – In his 352nd NHL game, Wayne Gretzky scores a goal & 5 assists in 8-1 rout of Quebec Nordiques to record his 800th point and 500th assist; averages 2.27 points, 1.42 assists, 0.85 goals per game to start career.
1986 – US Congress forms “Irangate” committee.
1989 – “The Simpsons” created by Matt Groening, premiers on Fox TV as a full animated series with the episode, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”
2003 – “The Return of the King” 3rd Lord of the Ring films is released. Makes US$72 million opening weekend, 2nd film to gross over 1 billion worldwide.
2015 – Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals is arrested on fraud charges in New York by the FBI.
2018 – CBS announces former Chief Executive Les Moonves will not receive his $120 million exit payout.
2018 – Dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is “justice”
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