- 1582: Russia ceded Livonia and Estonia to Poland.
                     - 1777: Vermont declared its independence from Britain and established
                       a republic which lasted until the state joined the Union in 1791.
                     - 1780: The Continental Congress established the court of appeals.
                     - 1797: The top hat was first worn, by John Etherington of London.
                     - 1844: The University of Notre Dame received its charter from the
                       state of Indiana.
                     - 1870: A donkey first appeared in a cartoon to symbolize the U.S.
                       Democratic Party. Published in Harper's Weekly, it criticized
                       ex-secretary of war Edwin Stanton and was captioned "A Live
                       Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion."
                     - 1895: Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" premiered.
                     - 1896: U.S. photographer Mathew Brady, famed for his political
                       portraits and his photographs of the American Civil War, died.
                     - 1919: Pianist and statesman Ignace Jan Paderewski became the first
                       premier of Poland.
                     - 1922: The Irish Free State was formed; Michael Collins became its
                       first premier.
                     - 1929: U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King was born in
                       Atlanta.
                     - 1943: Work was completed on the Pentagon, headquarters of the
                       United States Department of Defense.
                     - 1944: The European Advisory Commission decided to divide Germany
                       into several occupational zones after the war.
                     - 1951: The Supreme Court curbed the freedom of speech, ruling "clear
                       and present danger" of incitement to riot was cause for arrest.
                     - 1967: The first Super Bowl was played as the Green Bay Packers of
                       the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the
                       American Football League, 35-10.
                     - 1968: Bill Masterson became the first casualty in the National
                       Hockey League when he died of a brain injury sustained in a game
                       two days before.
                     - 1974: "Happy Days" began an 11-year run on ABC.
                     - 1975: Space Mountain opened in Disneyland.
                     - 1976: Sara Jane Moore was sentenced to life in prison for her
                       attempt on the life of President Ford.
                     - 1978: Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman, two students at Florida State
                       University, were murdered in their sorority house by Ted Bundy.
                     - 1981: "Hill Street Blues" debuted on NBC.
                     - 1984: Hana Mandlikova ended Martina Navratilova's 54-match winning
                       streak.
                     - 1988: Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder made racist remarks about black
                       athletes, resulting in his termination from CBS.
                     - 1990: The Bulgarian parliament formally scrapped the Communist
                       Party's monopoly on power, clearing the way for multi-party
                       democracy.
                     - 1998: Former Indian prime minister Gulzari Lal Nanda died.

                     *Happy Birthday*
                     ----------------
                     - Charo, 68, singer/actress
                     - Martha Davis, 48, singer/musician, The Motels
                     - Iris DeMent, 38, country singer
                     - Chad Lowe, 31, actor, "Life Goes On"
                     - Mike Marshall, 56, former MLB pitcher, appeared in record-number of
                       games in one season (106 in 1974, won Cy Young Award)
                     - Andrea Martin, 52, comedienne/actress, "Wag the Dog"
                     - Mary Pierce, 24, tennis player
                     - Julian Sands, 41, actor, "One Night Stand"
                     - Edward Teller, 91, physicist, father of the hydrogen bomb
                     - Mario Van Peebles, 42, actor/director, "Posse"
                     - Randy White, 46, fomer NFL tackle