1215 – King John of England puts his seal to the Magna Carta.
1648 – Margaret Jones is hanged in Boston for witchcraft in the first such execution for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
1752 – Benjamin Franklin demonstrated the relationship between lightning and electricity by flying a kite during a storm in Philadelphia. An iron key suspended from the kite attracted a lightning bolt.
1836 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th state.
1844 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization.
1846 – The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
1864 – Arlington National Cemetary is established when 200 acres around Arlington Mansion are officially set aside as a military cemetery.
1921 – Bessie Coleman earns her pilot’s license, becoming the first female pilot of African-American descent.
