1807 – U.S. Congress passes Embargo Act and President Thomas Jefferson signs into law. Prohibits American ships from trading in foreign ports, as result of involvement in hostilities between France and Britain.
1877 – Thomas Edison’s phonograph is announced by Scientific American.
1882 – 1st string of Christmas tree lights created by Thomas Edison.
1910 – US postal savings stamps 1st issued.
1932 – Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers 1st joint movie “Flying Down to Rio,” directed by Thornton Freeland, premieres in NYC.
1937 – Lincoln Tunnel (NYC) opens to traffic.
1941 – Winston Churchill arrives in Washington, D.C. for wartime conference.
1943 – Manufactures get permission to use synthetic rubber for baseball core.
1958 – “Chipmunk Song” reaches #1.
1962 – Harris County, Texas voters approve all-weather stadium for Houston Colt .45s.
1964 – First flight of the US aircraft Lockheed SR-71, reaches 3,530 kph (record for a jet)
1965 – “Doctor Zhivago” based on novel by Boris Pasternak, directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie premieres in NYC.
1969 – Pete Marovich sets NCAA record of hitting 30 or 31 foul shots.
1973 – OPEC Gulf Six decides to raise the posted price of marker crude from $5.12 to $11.65 per barrel effective January 1, 1974.
1983 – Indiana Pacers win, 133-132 in Denver to end a 28 NBA game losing streak on the road.
1990 – Paul Coffey becomes the second NHL defenseman to record 1000 points, doing so in a record-breaking 770 games.
1995 – David Cone signs $19.5 million, 3 year contract with NY Yankees.
2001 – Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.
2010 – Repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy”, a 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the US military, signed into law by President Barack Obama.
2018 – Partial shutdown of US federal government begins.
