Maryland becomes the 13th and final state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, almost three years after the official deadline given by Congress of March 10, 1778.

The first machine for rolling ice cream cones was patented by Carl Rutherford Taylor of Cleveland.

The Challenger, carrying NH Teacher Christa McAuliffe, explodes shortly after launching

Auschwitz is liberated

President Kennedy appoints first female presidential physician

The first Winter Olympics are held

Carpenter James Wilson Marshall found nuggets of gold in California's American River near the site of a sawmill he was building for John Sutter, ushering in a gold rush.

English poet Lord Byron is born

President Carter pardons draft dodgers

Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the office.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower held the first-ever televised presidential press conference.

The first aircraft landing on a ship's flight deck was performed by American pilot Eugene Ely on the battleship Pennsylvania in San Francisco Bay.

Benjamin Franklin is born

Groundbreaking book Don Quixote is published

The Great Molasses Flood happens in Boston

FDR becomes first president to travel by plane on US official business

Douglas Wilder of Virginia becomes nation's first Black governor

Henry Ford sets speed record

President Roosevelt makes Grand Canyon a National Park

First meeting of the United Nations is held