Thomas Hutchins designated Geographer of the US, 1781
Battle of Verdun ended, 1916
Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet, married Caitlin McNamara, 1937
First Romanov Czar crowned, 1613
William “Wild Bill” Donovan appointed to form OSS, 1941
5,000,000,000th person born, 1987
George Gershwin, composer (“Porgy and Bess”), died, 1937
US Air Force Academy dedicated, 1955
First chief executive travelled through the Panama Canal (FDR), 1934
Skylab (US) destroyed on reentry, 1979
James Smith, signer of the US Declaration of Independence, died, 1806
Sir Laurence Olivier, actor, died, 1989
Medal of Freedom awarded (posthumously) to Martin Luther King Jr, 1977
US Marine Corps became a separate unit, 1789
Nolan Ryan became the first pitcher to strike out 4000 (Danny Heep), 1985
Jubal Early’s raid on Washington, DC, 1864
Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton had a pistol duel (Weehawken, New Jersey), 1804
Mongolian Communist government established, 1921
Salomon Auguste Andree and two companions left Sweden in a balloon bound for the North Pole, 1897
Federal Aid Road Act signed (Woodrow Wilson), 1916