1752 – Benjamin Franklin tests the lightning conductor with his kite-flying experiment.
1775 – Second Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and issues paper currency for 1st time.
1797 – 1st US Navy ship, the “United States,” is launched.
1837 – Panic of 1837: New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels.
1879 – Meteor falls near Estherville, Iowa.
1908 – 1st Mother’s Day observed (Philadelphia)
1924 – J. Edgar Hoover appointed head of FBI.
1944 – Smith v Allwright (excluding Blacks from primary voting) is illegal.
1960 – John F. Kennedy wins primary in West Virginia.
1960 – US atomic submarine USS Triton completes 1st submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
1968 – Vietnam peace talks began in Paris between the US and North Vietnam.
1969 – US troops begin attack on Hill 937 (“Hamburger Hill”), Vietnam.
1971 – US special delivery rates go from 45 cents to 60 cents.
1983 – “Laverne & Shirley” last airs on ABC-TV.
1993 – Paul Cezanne still life painting sells for US$28,600,000 in NYC.
1993 – Bill Walton is inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
2002 – Anaheim Angels crush the Chicago White Sox 19-0. The Angels join the 1923 Indians, 1939 Yankees and 1950 Red Sox as the only teams to beat two opponents by 19 or more runs in the same season.
2005 – A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 65 feet from U.S. President George W. Bush while giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, it malfunctions and does not detonate.
2017 – Apple becomes the first company to be worth more than $800 billion.
2017 – US President Donald Trump shares classified information about ISIS plot with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office.
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