1775 – Sir James Jay invents invisible ink.
1877 – UN inventor Thomas Edison demonstrates his hand-cranked phonograph for the first time.
1887 – US receives rights to Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, Hawaii.
1910 – The first US patent for inventing the traffic lights system is issued to Ernest Sirrine.
1929 – Richard E. Byrd sends “My calculations indicate that we have reached vicinity of South Pole” (He was wrong)
1933 – 1st state liquor stores authorized (Pennsylvania)
1942 – US Office of Price Administration rations coffee for everyone, 10 pound a year.
1944 – John Hopkins hospital performs 1st open heart surgery.
1948 – “Kukla, Fran & Ollie” debuted on NBC.
1953 – American Airlines begins 1st regular commercial NY-LA air service.
1963 – “I Want to Hold Your Hand” single released by the Beatles in the United Kingdom.
1972 – Co-founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell releases Pong, the 1st commercially successful video game, in Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale, California.
1975 – US President Gerald Ford requires states to provide free education for handicapped.
1981 – “My Fair Lady” closes at Uris Theater NYC after 119 performances.
1987 – Joe Montana of San Francisco 49ers completes NFL record of 22 consecutive passes.
1995 – CNNfn, a financial network by Turner Enterprises is launched.
1995 – US President Bill Clinton lifts ban on exports of oil from the Alaskan North Slope; the ban was imposed after the oil embargo by Arab oil producers in 1973.
2001 – UN Security Council unanimously approves a resolution extending the Oil-for-Food program in Iraq for another six-month period
2010 – “Rolling in the Deep” single is released by Adele (Billboard Song of the Year 2011, Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year 2012)
2017 – American TV host Matt Lauer is fired from NBC’s “Today” show after an allegation of sexual misconduct.