Vega 1 (USSR) made first flyby of Comet Halley, 1986
Guam discovered, 1521
Mexican forces captured the Alamo (200 killed), 1836
Oreos first marketed, 1912
US bombers staged a daylight raid against Berlin, 1944
Dred Scott decision handed down, 1857
First person water skied barefoot (Dick Pope Jr), 1947
Georgia O’Keeffe, artist, died, 1986
“La Traviata” first performed (Venice, Italy), 1853
David Crockett, frontiersman, died, 1836
Ayn Rand, novelist (“The Fountainhead”), died, 1982
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck, writer, died, 1973
Thomas Heyward, American Revolutionary soldier, died, 1809
Gutzon Borglum, Mt. Rushmore sculptor, died, 1941
John Philip Sousa, composer and band conductor, died, 1932
Walter Cronkite delivered his last newscast, 1981
First car drove through Detroit (Charles Brady King), 1896
Edgar Allen Poe was expelled from West Point, 1831
Louisa May Alcott, author (“Little Women”), died, 1888
Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali, 1964
A nationwide US bank holiday declared by FDR went into effect, 1933
Ghana received independence from Great Britain, 1957