1776 – Continental Congress negotiates a war loan of $181,500 from France.
1776 – Thomas Paine writes “These are the times that try men’s souls.
1788 – Maryland votes to cede a 10 square mile area for District of Columbia.
1823 – “Visit from St. Nicholas” by C. Moore published in Troy (NY) Sentinel.
1862 – Union General Ben “Beast” Butler is proclaimed a “felon, outlaw & common enemy of mankind” by Jefferson Davis.
1900 – As American forces defeat the Filipino insurgents and impose civil authority, some Filipinos form a Federal Party with a platform recognizing US sovereignty.
1907 – 1st all-steel passenger railroad coach completed, Altoona, Pa.
1912 – 1st “Keystone Kops” film, entitled “Hoffmeyer’s Legacy”
1919 – 1st hospital ship built to move wounded naval personnel launched.
1930 – Bette Davis arrives in Hollywood under contract to Universal Studios.
1946 – Highest ridership in NYC subway history (8.8 million passengers)
1961 – Fidel Castro announces Cuba will release 1,113 prisoners from failed 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion for $62M worth of food & medical supplies.
1963 – Beach Boys 1st appearance on “Shindig”
1975 – Congress passes Metric Conversion Act.
1986 – Experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan & Jeana Yeager, complete 1st nonstop, round-the-world flight without refueling lands.
1987 – Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, serving a life sentence for attempted assassination of President Gerald R. Ford escapes from Alderson Prison.
1994 – Baseball caps impose salary cap, fiercely opposed by players.
1997 – Terry Nichols found guilty of manslaughter in Oklahoma bombing.
1997 – US Agriculture Department estimates it costs $149,820 to raise a child to 18.
2004 – Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean is hit by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake.