1842 – Ether used as an anesthetic for 1st time by Dr Crawford Long (Georgia).
1867 – Alaska Purchase: US buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 ($109 million in 2018), roughly 2 cents per acre.
1870 – 15th Amendment to the US constitution is adopted, guarantees right to vote regardless of race.
1910 – Mississippi Legislature founded The University of Southern Mississippi.
1922 – WWL-AM in New Orleans LA begins radio transmissions.
1940 – 2nd NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Indiana beats Kansas, 60-42; Hoosiers’ forward Marvin Huffman is named Most Outstanding Player.
1945 – World War II: a defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262-1 to Americans.
1952 – 6th Tony Awards: “The Fourposter” and “The King & I” win.
1955 – 27th Academy Awards: “On the Waterfront”, Marlon Brando & Grace Kelly win.
1964 – Astronaut John Glenn withdraws from Ohio senate race.
1965 – Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
1970 – “Applause” opens at Palace Theater NYC for 900 performances.
1972 – North Vietnam launches a major conventional attack against South Vietnam.
1981 – 43rd NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Indiana beats North Carolina, 63-50; Hoosiers’ future Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas is named Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
1981 – US President Ronald Reagan is shot and wounded in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, three others are also wounded.
1984 – World’s most valuable tip – New York police detective Robert Cunningham offers waitress Phyliss Penzo half of $1 lottery ticket, next day they win $6 million.
1990 – Jack Nicklaus makes his debut on the Senior PGA tour with a 71(-1) in the first round of The Tradition at Desert Mountain; wins the event by 4 strokes from Gary Player.
2001 – At 15 years, 9 months American swimmer Michael Phelps breaks 200m butterfly world record at the US World Championship trials at Austin, Texas; becomes the youngest male to set a world mark.
2012 – American Mega Millions lottery hits a world record lottery amount of $640 million.
2017 – North Carolina repeals its controversial bathroom law that restricted transgender use.
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