- 1502: Portuguese navigators discovered Rio de Janeiro.
- 1673: The first regular mounted mail service in the United
States was inaugurated between New York and Boston.
- 1701: The union between Great Britain and Ireland became
effective, creating the United Kingdom.
- 1785: The "Daily Universal Register," which later became the
Times of London, published its first issue.
- 1797: Albany became the capital of New York, replacing New
York City.
- 1847: Michigan became the first state to abolish capital
punishment.
- 1862: The first U.S. income tax (3% of incomes over $600,
5% of incomes over $10,000) went into effect.
- 1863: President Lincoln issued the final Emancipation
Proclamation, freeing all slaves in territories held by
Confederates and encouraging the enlisting of black soldiers
in the Union Army.
- 1874: New York City annexed the Bronx.
- 1886: The first Tournament Of Roses Parade took place in
Pasadena, Calif.
- 1896: Wilhelm Rontgen announced his discovery of x-rays.
- 1901: Australia declared its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1908: The ball announcing the beginning of the New Year was
lowered for the first time in Times Square.
- 1934: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), which guarantees
U.S. banks, went into effect; Alcatraz Island officially became a
Federal Prison.
- 1948: The first newsreel in color was filmed in Pasadena, Calif.
- 1953: Country music legend Hank Williams Sr. was found dead in
the back seat of his car from an overdose of alcohol and pain
killers. He was 29 years old.
- 1958: Treaties establishing the European Economic Community, or
the Common Market, went into effect.
- 1959: Fidel Castro led Cuban revolutionaries to victory over
Fulgenico Batista and took control of Cuba.
- 1960: Johnny Cash played the first of many free concerts behind
bars when he entertained the inmates of San Quentin Prison. Among
those in the audience was future country star Merle Haggard,
serving time for burglary.
- 1966: Effective on this day, all U.S. cigarette packages had to
carry the warning "Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous
to your health."
- 1975: Former Attorney General John Mitchell and former presidential
aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman were found guilty of
conspiracy to obstruct the Watergate investigation.
- 1976: The Liberty Bell was moved to its new home behind Independence
Hall.
- 1984: The break-up of AT&T took place as the telecommunications
giant was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms
of an antitrust agreement.
- 1985: VH-1 made its broadcasting debut.
- 1990: David Dinkins was sworn in as New York City's first black
mayor.
- 1993: Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries:
the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
- 1994: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into
effect.
- 1995: The last "The Far Side" appeared as cartoonist Gary Larson
retired the strip he began in 1980.
- 1996: After 27 years, Betty Rubble made her debut as a Flintstone
vitamin.
*Happy Birthday*
----------------
- Marcia Cross, 38, actress, "Melrose Place"
- Grandmaster Flash, 41, rapper/disc jockey
- Frank Langella, 59, actor, "Dracula"
- "Country" Joe McDonald, 57, folk singer/musician, Country
Joe and the Fish
- Don Novello, 56, comedian, a.k.a. Father Guido Sarducci
- DeDee Pfeiffer, 35, actress, "Cybill"
- J. D. Salinger, 80, novelist, "The Catcher in the Rye"