1903 – The Wright Brothers make the first sustained motorized aircraft flight at 10:35 AM, piloted by Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
1920 – American League votes to let spitball pitchers continue using it.
1924 – First US diesel electric locomotive enters service in Bronx, New York.
1933 – National Football League Championship, first 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 – First flight of the Douglas DC-3 (C-47 Skytrain/Dakota) airplane.
1944 – US Army announces end of excluding Japanese-Americans from West Coast. Detainees are released.
1944 – US destroyers sink in storm off Philippines, 790 killed.
1953 – US Federal Communications Commission approves RCA’s black & white-compatible color TV specifications.
1957 – United States successfully test fires Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile.
1965 – First concert event at Houston Astrodome: Judy Garland headlines with The Supremes as opening act.
1975 – Lynette Fromme sentenced to life for attempt to assassinate President Gerald Ford.
1978 – OPEC raises oil prices by 18% and agrees on a 14.5% petroleum price increase for 1979 to be implemented quarterly.
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. He averages 2.27 points, 1.42 assists, 0.85 goals per game to start career.
1986 – Congress forms “Irangate” committee.
1989 – “The Simpson,” created by Matt Groening, premieres on Fox TV as a full animated series with the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.”
1996 – “In My Bed” single released by Dru Hill. It’s Billboard Song of the Year in 1997.
2003 – SpaceShipOne flight 11P, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first supersonic flight.
2015 – Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, is arrested on fraud charges in New York by the FBI.
2018 – Dictionary publisher Merriam Webster’s word of the year is “justice.”
2022 – Minnesota Vikings recover from 33-0 down at halftime to beat Indianapolis Colts 39-36 in overtime at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. It’s the biggest comeback in NFL history.
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