On this day for the United States
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Events
- 1642 - Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), becomes the first incorporated city in the USA.
- 1692 - Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.
- 1781 - The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation.
- 1790 - The first United States census is authorized.
- 1803 - Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state.
- 1805 - Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate.
- 1836 - A Convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico.
- 1845 - President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.
- 1847 - The state of Michigan formally abolishes capital punishment.
- 1867 - Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state; Lancaster, Nebraska, is renamed Lincoln and becomes the state capital.
- 1872 - Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park.
- 1873 - E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York, start production of the first practical typewriter.
- 1912 - Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.
- 1917 - U.S. government releases the plaintext of the Zimmermann Telegram to the public.
- 1932 - The son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, is kidnapped.
- 1936 - Hoover Dam is completed.
- 1936 - A strike occurs aboard the SS California, leading to the demise of the International Seamen's Union and the creation of the National Maritime Union.
- 1941 - W47NV (deleted in 1951) begins operations on Nashville, Tennessee, as the first fully licensed commercial FM radio station in the United States.
- 1950 - Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by giving them top secret atomic bomb data.
- 1954 - Nuclear testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.
- 1954 - Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives. (See 1954 United States Capitol shooting.)
- 1955 - Allen Fieldhouse at the University of Kansas hosts its first college basketball game.
- 1958 - Samuel Alphonsus Stritch, is appointed Pro-Prefect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first American member of the Roman Curia.
- 1961 - President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
- 1962 - American Airlines Flight 1 crashes on take off in New York.
- 1971 - A bomb explodes in a men's room in the United States Capitol: the Weather Underground claims responsibility.
- 1974 - Watergate scandal: Seven people are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
- 1980 - Voyager 1 probe confirms that Janus (moon of Saturn) exists.
- 1989 - The United States becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1990 - Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
- 2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan.
- 2003 - Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
- 2004 - Terry Nichols is convicted of state murder charges and being an accomplice to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
- 2007 - Tornadoes swarm across the southern United States, killing at least 20; eight of the deaths were at a high school in Enterprise, Alabama.
Births
- 1732 - William Cushing, 2nd Chief Justice of the United States. (d. 1810)
- 1807 - Wilford Woodruff, fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1898)
- 1837 - William Dean Howells, American writer, historian, and politician (d. 1920)
- 1871 - Ben Harney, American composer and ragtime pianist (d. 1938)
- 1893 - Mercedes de Acosta, American socialite (d. 1968)
- 1904 - Paul Hartman, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1904 - Glenn Miller, American bandleader (d. 1944)
- 1914 - Harry Caray, American sportscaster (d. 1998)
- 1914 - Ralph Ellison, American writer (d. 1994)
- 1917 - Robert Lowell, American poet (d. 1977)
- 1918 - Gladys Noon Spellman, American politician (d. 1988)
- 1920 - Howard Nemerov, American poet (d. 1991)
- 1921 - Terence Cooke, American Catholic cardinal archbishop (d. 1983)
- 1921 - Richard Wilbur, American poet
- 1922 - William Gaines, American publisher (d. 1992)
- 1924 - Deke Slayton, American astronaut (d. 1993)
- 1926 - Pete Rozelle, American commissioner of the NFL (d. 1996)
- 1927 - Harry Belafonte, American musician and activist
- 1927 - Robert Bork, American legal scholar
- 1935 - Robert Conrad, American actor
- 1937 - Jed Allan, American actor
- 1940 - Robert Grossman, American illustrator
- 1942 - Richard Bowman Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- 1943 - Gil Amelio, American venture capitalist
- 1943 - Richard H. Price, American physicist
- 1944 - John Breaux, U.S. Senator from Louisiana
- 1945 - Dirk Benedict, American actor
- 1946 - Lana Wood, American actress
- 1946 - Elvin Bethea, American football player
- 1952 - Steven Barnes, American writer
- 1954 - Catherine Bach, American actress
- 1954 - Ron Howard, American actor and director
- 1956 - Timothy Daly, American actor
- 1963 - Rob Affuso, American drummer
- 1963 - Dan Michaels, American musician and record producer
- 1964 - Clinton Gregory, American musician
- 1965 - Booker Huffman, American professional wrestler
- 1965 - Mary Lou Lord, American singer/songwriter
- 1967 - George Eads, American actor
- 1969 - Doug Creek, American baseball player
- 1971 - Tyler Hamilton, American cyclist
- 1973 - Chris Webber, American basketball player
- 1974 - Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor
- 1974 - Stephen Davis, American football player
- 1978 - Jensen Ackles, American actor
- 1978 - Alicia Leigh Willis, American actress
- 1981 - Adam LaVorgna, American actor
- 1981 - Brad Winchester, American ice hockey player
- 1984 - Naima Mora, American model
- 1985 - J Leman, American Football Player
- 1986 - Jonathan Spector, American soccer player
- 1987 - Sammie, American singer
- 1988 - Katija Pevec, American actress
- 1989 - Sonya Kitchell, American singer
- 1990 - Nikolas Tsattalios, Australian soccer player
Deaths
- 1920 - John H. Bankhead, U.S. Senator (b. 1842)
- 1929 - Royal H. Weller, American politician (b. 1881)
- 1932 - Frank Teschemacher, American jazz clarinettist (b. 1906)
- 1963 - Irish Meusel, American baseball player (b. 1893)
- 1970 - Lucille Hegamin, American singer and entertainer (b. 1894)
- 1974 - Bobby Timmons, American jazz pianist (b. 1935)
- 1980 - Wilhelmina, high-fashion model and owner of model agency (b. 1940)
- 1984 - Jackie Coogan, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1988 - Joe Besser, American comedian and actor (b. 1907)
- 1991 - Edwin H. Land, American scientist and inventor (Polaroid Corporation) (b. 1909)
- 2000 - Dennis Danell, American guitarist (Social Distortion) (b. 1961)
- 2006 - Harry Browne, American politician and author (b. 1933)
- 2006 - Johnny Jackson, American musician (b. 1951)