1878 – First telephone exchange in San Francisco, California opens with 18 telephones.
1913 – Oregon becomes the second state to enact a minimum wage law, which was $8.25 per week for women and $6 per week for girls under 18. Men and boys were excluded because many male jobs were unionized.
1924 – American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller sets 100-meter world freestyle record 57.4 seconds at Miami, Florida.
1933 – First issue of news magazine “Newsweek” is published.
1936 – The world’s first superhero, The Phantom, a cartoon strip by Lee Falk, makes his first appearance.
1941 – In his 14th title defense Joe Lewis knocks out Gus Dorazion in the second round at the Convention Center in Philadelphia to retain the NYSAC heavyweight boxing crown.
1943 – Dow Chemical and Corning Glass Works form a joint venture to explore and produce silicon materials, based upon the work of James Franklin Hyde.
1947 – Voice of America begins broadcasting to the USSR.
1955 – Golfer Mike Souchak sets PGA 72-hole record of 257. The score was not broken until 2001.
1959 – First weather satellite launched, Vanguard 2.
1964 – US House of Representatives accept law on civil rights.
1970 – Army officer Jeffrey MacDonald murders his pregnant wife and two small daughters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
1972 – Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle model exceed those of Ford Model T.
1980 – 22nd Daytona 500: Buddy Baker wins ahead of Bobby Allison and Neil Bonnett.
1981 – Chrysler Corporation reports largest corporate losses in American history.
1985 – Murray Haydon becomes the third person to receive an artificial heart.
1995 – Federal judge allows lawsuit claiming US tobacco makers knew nicotine was addictive and manipulated its levels to keep customers hooked.
2004 – “If I Ain’t Got You” single released by Alicia Keys (Grammy Award Best Female R&B Vocal Performance 2005, Billboard Song of the Year 2004).
2014 – “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” premieres on NBC.
2020 – Amazon boss Jeff Bezos pledges $10 billion to help fight climate change.
2021 – Texas Senator Ted Cruz flies to Cancun, Mexico with his family amid a winter disaster in his state, igniting widespread condemnation.
Author: Sonny Jones
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