2004 SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately-funded spaceplane to achieve space flight.

1989 American Flag Burning of the American flag in protest is ruled legal by the U.S. Supreme Court.

1982 John Hinckley, Jr Hinckley is found not guilty by reason of insanity.  He had shot Pres. Reagan and James Brady in an attempt impress actress Jodie Foster.

1967 Computer Mouse Patent filed by Douglas Engelbart for the first computer mouse.  It was awarded in 1970 (patent #3541541).

1949 First woman Treasurer of the U.S Georgia Neese Clark is sworn in.

1948 First successful long-playing microgroove record Columbia Records introduces its 21-inch 33 1/3 rpm record. One side played for 23 minutes as compared to 4 minutes for 78 records.

1943 First Soldier's Medal awarded to a woman Nurse Edith Greenwood is honored for saving patient's lives during an Arizona hospital fire the previous April.

1942 World War II A Japanese submarine shells Fort Stevens, Oregon. No one is injured during what was the first attack on a military installation on the U.S. mainland since the War of 1812.

1934 National Mediation Board The government board is established to handle disputes in the railroad and airline industries.

1913 First woman to parachute from an airplane 18-year-old Georgia Broadwick from 1,000 feet above Los Angeles.

1879 Woolworths Frank Winfield Woolworth opened his second store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, leading to what would become the largest department store chain in the world. His first store, opened the previous year in Utica, New York, failed. (If at first you don't succeed…)

1834 First practical reaper American inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick patents the machine that would be largely responsible for the U.S agricultural revolution.

1788 U.S. Constitution New Hampshire ratifies the Constitution, becoming the ninth state and providing the necessary two-thirds majority required to make the Constitution law. It went into effect the following March.

1768 First U.S. medical school graduates 10 members of the College of Philadelphia Department of Medicine (now the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) receive their diplomas.

1675 St. Paul's Cathedral The construction of Christopher Wren's building begins in London.

1982 Prince William Britain's prince of Wales.

1947 Michael Gross American actor. TV: Family Ties (Mr. Keaton).

1947 Meredith Baxter American actress. TV: Family Ties (Elyse Keaton).

1945 Chris Britton British guitarist, with the Troggs. Music: Wild Thing (1966, #1).

1940 Mariette Hartley American actress. TV: Polaroid commercials (fictional wife of James Garner) and Incredible Hulk (David Banner's wife).

1940 Joe Flaherty American Emmy-winning actor, comic. TV: Second City TV and Maniac Mansion.

1938 Ron Ely (Ronald Pierce), American actor. TV: Tarzan (title role).

1933 Bernie Kopell American actor. TV: The Love Boat (Doc).

1927 Carl Burton Stokes d. 1996 American politician, TV newscaster. He was the first black elected mayor of a major U.S. city (1967-72, Cleveland, Ohio).

1925 Maureen Stapleton d. 2006 American Oscar-Tony-Emmy-winning actress. Film: Reds (1981, Oscar) and Cocoon (1985). TV: Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975).

1921 Jane Russell American actress, full-figured gal. Film: Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1953) and Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955).

1905 Jean-Paul Sartre d. 1980 French philosopher, dramatist. He and his lover Simone de Beauvoir founded "Existentialism."

1850 Daniel Carter Beard d. 1941 American artist, author. He created and taught the first animal-drawing class (1893, Woman's School of Applied Design), organized the first Boy Scout group in America (1910), and is for whom Mt. Beard is named.

1832 Joseph Hayne Rainey d. 1887 American politician, first black member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1870-79).

1814 Herman Munster TV character, of "The Munsters."

1774 Daniel D. Tompkins d. 1825 American politician, 6th U.S. Vice-President (1817-25), and governor of New York.

1731 Martha Dandridge Washington d. 1802 American first lady, wife of Pres. George Washington.

1002 Saint Leo IX d. 1054 French-born religious leader, 152nd Pope (1049-54).

???? Bossie the cow in the comic strip Barney Google.

2001 Carroll O'Connor b. 1924 American Emmy-winning actor. TV: All in the Family (1971-79, Archie Bunker) and In the Heat of the Night (1988-94, Police Chief Bill Gillespie).

1969 Maureen "Little Mo" Connolly b. 1934 American tennis player. She was the first woman to win the Grand Slam (1953, by winning Wimbledon, French Open, Australian Open, and U.S. Open in the same year).

1893 Leland Stanford b. 1824 American politician, railroad builder, philanthropist, president of the Central Pacific Railroad (1863-93), president of the Southern Pacific Railroad (1885-90), and founder of Stanford University (1885).

1874 Anders Jonas Ångström b. 1814 Swedish physicist, for whom the angstrom (a unit of length equal to 10^-10 meters) is named. He showed that hydrogen is present in the Sun's atmosphere (1862).

1852 Friedrich Froebel b. 1782 German educator. He founded the first kindergarten (1837). Because of his radical teaching beliefs, in 1851 kindergartens were banned by the Prussian minister of education.

1377 Edward III b. 1312 King of England (1327-77). His reign was marked by numerous successful military ventures.

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