1799 – 1st US patent for a seeding machine, Eliakim Spooner, Vermont.
1877 – Congress establishes the Electoral Commission to determine the disputed presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden.
1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company.
1915 – Alexander Graham Bell in NY calls Thomas Watson in San Francisco.
1937 – 1st broadcast of “Guiding Light” on NBC radio.
1939 – Joe Louis KOs John Henry Lewis in 1 for heavyweight boxing title.
1945 – Grand Rapids, Michigan, becomes 1st US city to fluoridate its water.
1955 – US & Panama sign canal treaty.
1959 – 1st transcontinental commercial jet flight (American) (LA to NY for $301)
1961 – 1st live, nationally televised presidential news conference with JFK.
1964 – The Beatles get their first US #1, “I Want to Hold your Hand) (Cashbox)
1971 – Charles Manson & 3 women followers convicted of Tate-LaBianca murders.
1974 – Ray Kroc, CEO of McDonald’s buys San Diego Padres baseball team for $12 million.
1981 – 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived back in US.
1988 – US VP George H.W. Bush & Dan Rather clash on “CBS Evening News” as Rather attempts to question Bush about his role in Iran-Contra affair.
1993 – Sears announces it is closing its catalog sales department after 97 years
2003 – Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Serena Williams wins 5th Grand Slam singles title and 4th straight; beats older sister Venus Williams 7-6,3-6,6-4 for her first Australian title.
2011 – UK announces it had a shock economic contraction of 0.5% in Q4 2010, due to severe winter weather and budget cuts implemented by the coalition government.
2019 – Longest-ever US government shutdowns ends after 35 days when President Donald Trump agrees to three week of negotiations on border security by a House-Senate conference committee.
