1779 – Patrick Henry proclaims “Give me liberty or give me death” in speech in favor of Virginian troops joining the Revolutionary War.
1857 – Elisha Otis installs his first elevator at 488 Broadway in New York City.
1901 – Australian opera star Dame Nellie Melba reveals the secret of her now famous toast.
1903 – The Wright brothers first file a patent for a flying machine, which is granted three years later.
1917 – Tornadoes kill 211 over four days in Midwest.
1922 – First airplane lands at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.
1936 – Physician Joseph G. Hamilton injects a leukemia patient with a sodium radioisotope, first intravenous injection of a human with a radioisotope.
1945 – Battle of Okinawa: US Navy ships bomb the Japanese island of Okinawa in preparation for the Allied invasion. It would become the largest battle of the Pacific War in World War II.
1950 – 22nd Academy Awards: “All The King’s Men”, Broderick Crawford and Olivia De Havilland win.
1957 – US army sells last homing pigeons.
1962 – Wake Forest coach “Bones” McKinney becomes second person to play and coach.
1970 – “Hello Darlin'” single released by Conway Twitty. It’s Billboard Song of the Year.
1977 – Elvis Presley begins his final concert tour.
1983 – President Ronald Reagan introduces Strategic Defense Initiative, dubbed “Star Wars”.
1990 – Former Exxon Valdez Captain Joseph Hazelwood ordered to help clean up Prince Edward Sound and pay $50,000 in restitution for 1989 oil spill.
1998 – 70th Academy Awards: “Titanic”, Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt win.
2003 – In Nasiriyah, Iraq, 11 soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company as well as 18 U.S. Marines are killed during the first major conflict of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2010 – President Barack Obama signs the Affordable Care Act (ACA), nicknamed ‘Obamacare’, expanding the availability and affordability of health care insurance.
2020 – Immediate global ceasefire to fight COVID-19 called for by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
2023 – Utah is the first state to limit social media for minors, including an overnight curfew and parental consents.
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