- 1634 - Samuel Cole opened the first tavern in Boston, MA.
- 1681 - England's King Charles II granted a charter to William Penn for an area that later became the state of Pennsylvania.
- 1766 - The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, which had caused bitter and violent opposition in the U.S. colonies.
- 1778 - The Continental Congress voted to ratify the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance. The two treaties were the first entered into by the U.S. government.
- 1789 - The first Congress of the United States met in New York and declared that the U.S. Constitution was in effect.
- 1791 - Vermont was admitted as the 14th U.S. state. It was the first addition to the original 13 American colonies.
- 1794 - The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress. The Amendment limited the jurisdiction of the federal courts to automatically hear cases brought against a state by the citizens of another state. Later interpretations expanded this to include citizens of the state being sued, as well.
- 1813 - The Russians fighting against Napoleon reached Berlin. The French garrison evacuated the city without a fight.
- 1826 - The first railroad in the U.S. was chartered. It was the Granite Railway in Quincy, MA.
- 1837 - The state of Illinois granted a city charter to Chicago.
- 1861 - The Confederate States of America adopted the "Stars and Bars" flag.
- 1877 - Emile Berliner invented the microphone.
- 1880 - Halftone engraving was used for the first time when the "Daily Graphic" was published in New York City.
- 1881 - Eliza Ballou Garfield became the first mother of a U.S. President to live in the executive mansion.
- 1902 - The American Automobile Association was founded in Chicago.
- 1904 - In Korea, Russian troops retreated toward the Manchurian border as 100,000 Japanese troops advanced.
- 1908 - The New York board of education banned the act of whipping students in school.
- 1908 - France notified signatories of Algeciras that it would send troops to Chaouia, Morocco.
- 1914 - Doctor Fillatre successfully separated Siamese twins.
- 1917 - Jeanette Rankin of Montana took her seat as the first woman elected to the House of Representatives.
- 1925 - Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office in Washington, DC. The presidential inauguration was broadcast on radio for the first time.
- 1930 - Emma Fahning became the first woman bowler to bowl a perfect game in competition run by the Women’s International Bowling Congress in Buffalo, NY.
- 1933 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt gave his inauguration speech in which he said "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."
- 1933 - Labor Secretary Frances Perkins became the first woman to serve in a Presidential administrative cabinet.
- 1942 - "Junior Miss" starring Shirley Temple aired on CBS radio for the first time.
- 1942 - The Stage Door Canteen opened on West 44th Street in New York City.
- 1947 - France and Britain signed an alliance treaty.
- 1950 - Walt Disney’s "Cinderella" was released across the U.S.
Disney movies, music and books
- 1952 - U.S. President Harry Truman dedicated the "Courier," the first seagoing radio broadcasting station.
- 1952 - Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis were married.
- 1954 - In Boston, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital reported the first successful kidney transplant.
- 1974 - "People" magazine was available for the first time.
- 1975 - Queen Elizabeth knighted Charlie Chaplin.
- 1986 - "Today" debuted in London as England’s newest, national, daily newspaper.
- 1989 - Time, Inc. and Warner Communications Inc. announced a plan to merge.
- 1991 - Sheik Saad al-Jaber al-Sabah, the prime minister of Kuwait, returned to his country for the first time since Iraq's invasion.
- 1994 - Bosnia's Croats and Moslems signed an agreement to form a federation in a loose economic union with Croatia.
- 1997 - U.S. President Clinton barred federal spending on human cloning.
- 1998 - Microsoft repaired software that apparently allowed hackers to shut down computers in government and university offices nationwide.
- 1998 - The U.S. Supreme Court said that federal law banned on-the-job sexual harassment even when both parties are the same sex.
- 1999 - Monica Lewinsky's book about her affair with U.S. President Clinton went on sale in the U.S.
- 2002 - Canada banned human embryo cloning but permitted government-funded scientists to use embryos left over from fertility treatment or abortions.
- 2012 - Vladimir Putin won re-election in Russia's presidential election.
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