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Events

• John Dix of Boston founded the first school for educating the blind, the New England Asylum for the Blind – 1829
• U.S. Congress passed first Reconstruction Act, setting up conditions for reintegration of Southern states into the Union – 1867
• Rutherford B. Hayes declared U.S. President by a special Electoral Commission in the disputed election of 1876 – 1877
• Hatch Act, providing for the promotion of U.S. agricultural science by creating state agricultural experiment stations, became law – 1887
• Congress adopted the Platt Amendment, which established a U.S. protectorate over Cuba – 1901
• Martha Washington Hotel, for women only, opened in N.Y.C. – 1903
• Puerto Rico became U.S. territory and its inhabitants became U.S. citizens – 1917
• World premiere of King Kong – 1933
• Battle of Bismarck Sea began, resulting in major victory by U.S. over Japanese shipping and aircraft – 1943
• US Air Force Captain James Gallagher and 13 crew members completed the first round-the-world nonstop flight in a Boeing B-50 Superfortress, Lucky Lady II – 1949
• First crossing of Antarctica by land completed by Dr. (later Sir) Vivian Fuchs and team. It had taken 99 days. – 1958
• Wilt Chamberlain set an NBA scoring record of 100 points as the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the New York Knicks – 1962
• Concorde prototype 001, a supersonic jetliner, tested for the first time – 1969
• Pioneer 10, unmanned U.S. interplanetary probe, was launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida – 1972
• The FDA approved the first commercial blood test for AIDS – 1985
• Queen Elizabeth II signed the Australia Act, defining Australia as a sovereign, independent, and federal nation – 1986
• A 3.5 earthquake rattled parts of Quebec along the border of the United States – 2005
• Microsoft founder Bill Gates received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II – 2005
• The new U.S. $10 bills went into circulation. The redesigned note had shades of orange, yellow, and red – 2006