1653 – New Amsterdam becomes a city (later renamed New York)
1709 – British sailor Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being marooned on a desert island for 5 years, his story inspires “Robinson Crusoe”
1802 – 1st leopard exhibited in US, Boston (admission 25 cents)
1843 – US & British settlers in Oregon Country choose government committee.
1848 – 1st ship load of Chinese arrive in San Francisco.
1863 – Samuel Clemens first uses the pen name Mark Twain in a Virginia City newspaper, the “Territorial Enterprise”
1869 – James Oliver invents removable tempered steel plow blade.
1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day is observed.
1901 – Female Army Nurse Corps established as a permanent organization.
1913 – NYC’s Grand Central Terminal opens.
1923 – Ethyl gasoline 1st marketed in Dayton, Ohio.
1932 – Al Capone sent to prison (Atlanta, Georgia)
1940 – Frank Sinatra’s singing debut in Indianapolis (Tommy Dorsey Orchestra)
1949 – Golfing champ Ben Hogan seriously injured in an auto accident.
1954 – Bevo Francis, Rio Grande College, scores 113 points in basketball game.
1964 – GI Joe, debuts as a popular American boy’s toy.
1974 – Barbara Striesand’s 1st #1 hit, “The Way We Were”
1991 – US postage is raised from 25 cents to 29 cents.
1997 – Scotty Bowman becomes first coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games.
2014 – Super Bowl XLVIII: Seattle Seahawks defeat Denver Broncos 42-8, most viewed television event in the United States with over 111 million viewers.
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