1775 – 1st US joint stock company (to make cloth) offers shares at 10 cents.
1856 – 1st national meeting of Republican Party (Pittsburgh)
1879 – 1st 5 & 10 cent store opened by Frank W. Woolworth in Utica, New York (failed almost immediately)
1903 – Due to drought the US side of Niagara Falls runs short of water.
1909 – Great White Fleet, 1st US fleet to circle the globe, returns to Virginia.
1934 – “It Happened One Night” directed by Frank Capra and starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert opens at NY’s Radio City Music Hall (Academy Awards Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay 1935)
1935 – Airplanes are no longer permitted to fly over the White House.
1942 – World War II: President Franklin Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as American defenses collapse.
1944 – World War II: US Army Air Force accidentally bomb Dutch town of Nijmegen, around 800 civilians die.
1959 – Inaugural Daytona 500: Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp cross finish line side by side; Beauchamp declared unofficial winner; ruling overturned after 3 days by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr.
1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record with 34 free throw attempts.
1972 – US President Richard Nixon meets with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing.
1980 – “Miracle on Ice”: US ice hockey team beats heavily favored Soviet Union, 4-3 at Lake Placid in one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history; Americans go on to win gold medal.
1988 – Bonnie Blair skates world record 500m (39.10 sec)
1989 – 31st Grammy Awards: Don’t Worry Be Happy, Faith, Tracy Chapman.
1996 – STS 75 (Columbia 19), launches into orbit.
2005 – 19th Soap Opera Digest Awards – “General Hospital” wins.
2017 – Jay-Z becomes 1st rapper to be inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside Max Martin, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
2017 – US President Donald Trump overturns Obama directive on Transgender right to use toilets.
2018 – US wins Olympic women’s ice hockey gold medal for the first time in 20 years with a 4-3 shootout victory over Canada in Pyeongchang: scores tied 3-3 after overtime.
2019 – Robert Kraft, owner of NFL team the New England Patriots, charged with soliciting prostitution, as part of human-trafficking sting operation in Jupiter, Florida.
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