On this date
In 1857,
the New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company failed, sparking the Panic of 1857.
In 1932,
Amelia Earhart embarked on a 19-hour flight from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., making her the first woman to fly solo, non-stop, from coast to coast.
In 1954,
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party in the United States.
In 1959,
three days after Hawaiian statehood, Hiram L. Fong was sworn in as the first Chinese-American U.S. Senator while Daniel K. Inouye was sworn in as the first Japanese-American U.S. Representative.
In 1968,
France became the world’s fifth thermonuclear power as it exploded a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.
In 1981,
Mark David Chapman was sentenced in New York to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon. (Chapman remains imprisoned.)
In 2006,
the International Astronomical Union declared that Pluto was no longer a full-fledged planet, demoting it to the status of a “dwarf planet.”
Ten years ago:
All sales under the government’s Cash for Clunkers program came to an end, although car dealers were given more time to submit pending claims for reimbursement.
Five years ago:
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck northern California, causing extensive damage in Napa and the surrounding area.
One year ago:
The family of Arizona Sen. John McCain announced that he had discontinued medical treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer; McCain died the following day.