1558 Calais, last English possession in France,
retaken by French under Francois, Duke of Guise
1608 Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia
1610 Galileo observes moon's surface
1714 A patent was issued for the first typewriter
1782 First US commercial bank, Bank of North
America, opens in Philadelphia
1784 First US seed business established by David
Landreth, Philadelphia
1785 First balloon flight across English Channel
(Blanchard & Jeffries)
1789 First national (Presidential) election
in US
1822 Liberia colonized by Americans
1835 HMS Beagle anchors off Chonos Archipelago
1890 W B Purvis patents fountain pen
1894 Motion picture experiment of comedian Fred
Ott filmed sneezing
1896 Fanny Farmer publishes her first cookbook
1913 William M Burton patents a process to "crack"
petroleum
1927 Commercial transatlantic telephone service
inaugurated between New York & London
1927 Harlem Globetrotters play first game (Hinckley
IL)
1929 "Buck Rogers 2429 A.D."
debuted in newspapers
1929 "Tarzan", one of the first adventure
comic strips, first appears
1934 "Flash Gordon" comic strip (by
Alex Raymond) debuts
1940 "Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch"
first aired on the CBS Radio Network
1941 The NBC Blue radio network presented the
first installment of "Inner Sanctum"
1944 Air Force announces production of first
US jet fighter, the Bell P-59
1949 First photo of genes taken at University
of Southern California by Pease & Baker
1950 Hank Snow's first appearance on "Grand
Ole Opry"
1950 "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
by Gene Autry topped the charts
1951 "Tennessee Waltz" by Patti Page
topped the charts
1953 President Truman announces development
of the hydrogen bomb
1954 The Duoscopic TV receiver was
unveiled
1955 Marian Anderson becomes first black singer
to perform at the Met (New York City)
1956 "Memories Are Made of This" by
Dean Martin topped the charts
1959 The United States recognized Fidel Castro's
new government in Cuba
1961 "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" by
Elvis Presley topped the charts
1962 "GE College Bowl" quiz show premieres
on NBC TV
1963 First class postage raised from 4¢
to 5¢
1966 "I'm a Believer" by the Monkees
topped the charts
1967 "Newlywed Game" premieres on
ABC TV
1968 First class postage raised from 5¢
to 6¢
1968 Surveyor 7 lands on the Moon
1970 Farmers sue Max Yasgur for $35,000 in damages
caused by "Woodstock"
1971 -40ºF (-40ºC), Hawley Lake AZ (state record)
1972 Los Angeles Lakers chalk up 33rd consecutive
win (NBA record)
1978 "How Deep Is Your Love" by
The Bee Gees topped the charts
1980 Minnesota ends Philadelphia Flyers' NHL
record 35 game unbeaten streak ends
1984 "Say Say Say" by Paul McCartney
& Michael Jackson topped the charts
1985 Japanese space probe Sakigake launched
to Halley's comet
1989 "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by
Poison topped the charts
1990 The Tower of Pisa closed to the public
after leaning too far
1992 AT&T releases video-telephone ($1499)
1999 The first presidential impeachment trial
in 130 years began
