1905 – World’s largest diamond, the 3,106-carat Cullinan, is found in South Africa.
1907 – 1st US federal corrupt election practices law passed.
1913 – Jim Thorpe relinquishes his 1912 Olympic medals for playing as a professional.
1918 – Herbert Hoover, US Food Administrator, calls for “wheatless” & “meatless” days for war effort.
1930 – Cleveland’s Terminal Tower opens (52 stories)
1939 – Filming begins on film “Gone With the Wind”
1954 – Groundbreaking begins on Disneyland.
1960 – High-school basketball sensation Danny Heater scores 135 points.
1961 – “Are You Lonesome tonight?” by Elvis Presley hits #1.
1962 – Bishop Burke of Buffalo Catholic dioceses declares Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” to be impure and bans it from all Catholic schools.
1967 – Chicago Blizzard strikes with a record 23 inches of snowfall causing 800 buses and 50,000 automobiles to be abandoned.
1970 – “Bridge over Troubles Water” 5th and final studio album by Simon & Garfunkel is released (Grammy Award Album of the Year, Best Engineered Non-Classical Album 1971)
1979 – “The Dukes of Hazzard” premieres on US TV network CBS.
1985 – Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores 50th goal in 49th game of season.
1988 – “Phantom of the Opera” opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 4,000+ performances.
1991 – NY Lotto pays $90 million to nine winners (#s are 5-15-30-35-46-50)
1998 – President Bill Clinton says “I want to say one thing to the American people; I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky”
2006 – Western Union discontinues its telegram service.
2010 – The World Health Organization rejects claims that it overlooked the severity of the swine flu pandemic under pressure from vaccine companies.
2020 – LA Lakers basketball legend Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash in foggy conditions in the hills above Calabasas, southern California; considered one of the greatest players in the game’s history.
