1897 – Portable pencil sharpener patented by inventor John Lee Love.
1904 – III Summer Olympic Games close at Washington University in St. Louis Olympic Field.
1909 – Wright Brothers form a million dollar corporation to manufacture airplanes.
1921 – President Warren G. Harding signs Willis Campbell Act, known as the Beer Emergency Bill, forbiding doctors prescribing beer or liquor for medicinal purposes.
1936 – First issue of Life picture magazine created by Henry R. Luce is published.
1942 – Coast Guard Woman’s Auxiliary (SPARS) authorized.
1945 – Most American wartime rationing of foods, including meat and butter, ends.
1954 – For the first time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above its peak of 381.17 reached just before the 1929 crash.
1962 – Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills is named National League Most Valuable Player.
1963 – Following the protocol after Abraham Lincoln’s death, President John F. Kennedy’s body lies in repose in the East Room of the White House and viewed by officials and heads of state.
1970 – George Harrison releases “My Sweet Lord” single.
1975 – Bob Thomas of the Chicago Bears kicks a 55-yard field goal.
1981 – President Ronald Reagan vetoes House Joint Resolution 357 which called for further appropriations for fiscal year 1982.
1986 – The second WTA Tour Championship of the year due to a change of the tennis schedule saw Martina Navratilova wins her fifth straight and eighth overall title with 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Steffi Graf in New York City.
1991 – Evander Holyfield beats Bert Cooper by technical knockout in the seventh round for the heavyweight boxing title.
2007 – MS Explorer, a cruise liner, sinks in the Antarctic Ocean south of Argentina after hitting an ice field near the South Shetland Islands. All 154 passengers and crew were rescued.
2009 – Susan Boyle releases her debut album “I Dreamed a Dream.” It becomes the biggest selling album worldwide in 2009 and is named 2010 Billboard Album of the Year.
2014 – British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit to clinch his second F1 World Drivers Championship, finishing 67 points ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg.
2018 – Alabama police kill the wrong suspect after a gunman shoots an 18-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl at Riverchase Galleria Mall in Hoover.
2023 – Dallas Cowboys defensive back Ron Bland breaks the NFL single-season record for interception returns for a touchdown with his fifth during a 45-10 win over the visiting Washington Commanders. The previous record of 4 was set in 1971 by Ken Houston and more recently tied in 1993 by Eric Allen.
Author: Sonny Jones
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