1793 – Noah Webster establishes New York City’s first daily newspaper, the American Minerva.
1872 – P.B.S. Pinchback became the first African American to serve as a governor of a U.S. state. He had previously served the state as its lieutenant governor, duties he had assumed when Lieutenant Governor Oscar Dunn died while in office. Then, Pinchback replaced Governor Henry C. Warmoth when his term ended due to impeachment charges.
1884 – The U.S. Patent Office issued patent No. 308,990 to Levant M. Richardson of the Richardson Skate Company in Chicago, IL, for his ball-bearing roller skates.
1935 – Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago becomes the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy. In 1936, the trophy was renamed the Heisman Trophy after coach John W. Heisman.
1958 – John Birch Society founded by retired candy manufacturer Robert H.W. Welch, Jr.
1965 – A Charlie Brown Christmas special premieres on CBS
1979 – Smallpox officially declared eradicated via vaccination, after thousands of years of spread.
