1880 – Compressed air accident kills 20 workers on Hudson River tunnel in New York.
1904 – Camille Jenatzy sets world auto speed record at 65.79 MPH.
1919 – Anthony Fokker establishes his new aircraft company, the Dutch Aircraft Factory, in Amsterdam.
1921 – To prove his contention that air power is superior to sea power, Colonel William Mitchell demonstrates how bombs from planes can sink a captured German battleship.
1931 – Reno race track becomes the first in the United States to use daily double wagering.
1943 – Musical film “Stormy Weather,” directed by Andrew L. Stone, starring Bill Robinson, Lena Horne and Fats Waller, who sings “Ain’t Misbehavin,” premieres.
1944 – United States forces land on Guam during its recapture from the Japanese during Operation Forager.
1949 – Senate ratifies North Atlantic Treaty by a vote of 92-13.
1957 – Althea Gibson becomes the first Black athlete to win a major U.S. tennis tournament.
1966 – Gemini X returns to Earth after conducting rendezvous and docking tests with the Agena target vehicle.
1973 – Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron hits Philadelphia Phillies’ Ken Brett’s fastball for his 700th home run in Atlanta.
1974 – House Judiciary approves two Articles of Impeachment against President Richard Nixon.
1983 – United States announces Lebanon freed American hostage David Dodge.
1989 – Eastern Airlines submits a reorganization plan to creditors.
1995 – The Kansas City Royals set a club record with 22 singles in 15 innings.
2002 – Telecom giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest such filing in United States history.
2007 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the series by J.K. Rowling, is published worldwide with 11 million copies sold in 24 hours.
2011 – NASA’s Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135.
2021 – Life expectancy in the United States falls by 1.5 years, which is the largest decline since World War II. Expectancy drops 3 years for Hispanic-Americans and 2.9 years for Black Americans.
2022 – President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19.
About Author
