- 600 – Pope Gregory the Great decrees saying “God bless You” is the correct response to a sneeze.
- 1838 – Kentucky passes law permitting women to attend school under certain conditions. Way to be forward-thinking, Kentucky.
- 1840 – American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
- 1870 – Leonora O’Reilly, is born. She was a labor organizer, founding member of the Woman’s Trade Union League and helped found the NAACP.
- 1878 – Silver dollars made legal.
- 1883 – Ladies Home Journal begins publishing.
- 1905 – Louise Larson is born. She became the first Chinese American and first Asian American reporter in a mainstream daily paper (The Los Angeles Record) and also wrote for the San Francisco News, the Chicago Times and the LA Times magazine over her 51-year career.
- 1923 – Archeologist Howard Carter opens the tomb of King Tut. He had been searching since 1891.
- 1951 – New York City Council passes bill prohibiting racial discrimination in city-assisted housing developments.
- 1957 – LeVar Burton is born. An actor for all seasons, he played in Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation and as the host of Reading Rainbow.
- 1959 – Fidel Castro sworn in as prime minister of Cuba.
- 1968 – The first 9-1-1 call is placed.
- 1984 – Bill Johnson becomes the first American to win Olympic gold in downhill skiing.
