1513 – Spaniard Juan Ponce de Leon and his expedition first sight Florida.
1790 – The modern shoelace (string and shoe holes) invented in England.
1794 – The United States Government establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates.
1814 – Battle at Horseshoe Bend: General Andrew Jackson defeats the Red Sticks, part of the Creek Indian tribe near Dadeville, Alabama.
1848 – 1st US steam fire engine tested, NYC.
1855 – Abraham Gesner patents kerosene.
1863 – American Confederate President Jefferson Davis calls for this to be a day of fasting and prayer.
1866 – Andrew Rankin patents the urinal.
1928 – US Men’s Figure Skating championship won by Roger Turner.
1930 – 1st US radio broadcast from a ship at sea.
1931 – John McGraw says night baseball will not catch on.
1943 – Blue Ribbon Town (with Groucho Marx) 1st heard on CBS radio.
1948 – Just 11 days after being released from prison, Billie Holiday plays in front of a sold-out crown at Carnegie Hall.
1952 – “Singin’ in the Rain”, a musical comedy starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Conner and Debbie Reynolds, is released.
1958 – Havana Hilton opens.
1966 – Anti Vietnam war demonstrations in US, Europe & Australia.
1972 – Adolph Rupp retires after 42 years of coaching University of Kentucky.
1982 – “Best Little Whorehouse…” closes at 46th St. NYC after 1577 performances.
1995 – 67th Academy Awards – “Forrest Gump”, Jessica Lange & Tom Hanks win.
1997 – Martin Luther King’s son meets James Earl Ray, his father’s killer.
2006 – The United Nations Commission on Human Rights holds its final meeting.