- 1492 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola.
- 1831 – Former President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives.
- 1848 – President James Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in California, leading to the “gold rush” of 1848 and ’49.
- 1933 – Prohibition of liquor in the U.S. was repealed when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment.
- 1955 – African Americans declared a boycott of city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, following the arrest of Rosa Parks.
- 2008 – Former NFL star O.J. Simpson was sentenced up to 33 years in prison for holding up two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in Las Vegas. He was released in October 2017.
