- 1783 – At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, General George Washington bids farewell to his officers.
- 1861 – The Confederate States of America unanimously elected Jefferson Davis as President and Alexander H. Stephens as Vice President.
- 1865 – North Carolina ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, followed soon by Georgia, and slaves in the U.S. were legally free within 2 weeks.
- 1881 – The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published.
- 1918 – President Woodrow Wilson sails for the World War I peace talks in Versailles, becoming the first U.S. president to travel to Europe while in office.
- 1942 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the liquidation of the Works Progress Administration because of high levels of employment due to World War II.
- 1991 – Terry Anderson is released after seven years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut.
- 1992 – President George H.W. Bush ordered U.S. troops into Somalia.
