- 240 BC First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
- 1842 Ether is used as an anesthetic for the first time by Dr. Crawford Long in Georgia
- 1858 Pencil with attached eraser is patented by Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia
1867 The United States buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (109 million in 2018 dollars), roughly 2 cents an acre
- 1870 The 15th Amendment to the US Constitution is adopted, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race
- 1939 Batman debuts in the 27th issue of Detective Comics by DC Comics
Event of Interest
1961 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker takes the X-15 to 169,600 feet (51,690 meters), becoming the first person to surpass the stratopause, entering the mesosphere
Color Me Barbra
1966 "Color Me Barbra," Barbra Streisand's second TV special and the first in color, premieres on CBS
A Funny Thing
1972 Revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical-comedy "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," starring Phil Silvers, opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC; runs for 156 performances and wins 2 Tony Awards
- 1981 "Chariots of Fire" directed by Hugh Hudson and starring Ben Cross and Ian Charleson premieres at a Royal Command Film Performance (Best Picture 1982)
- 1984 World's most valuable tip - New York police detective Robert Cunningham offers waitress Phyllis Penzo half of a $1 lottery ticket; the next day, they win $6 million
Event of Interest
1987 Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" sells for a record £22.5 million ($39.7 million)
World Record
2001 At 15 years, 9 months American swimmer Michael Phelps breaks 200m butterfly world record at the US World Championship trials at Austin, Texas; becomes youngest male to set a world mark
- 2012 American Mega Millions lottery hits a world record lottery amount of 640 million dollars
Film & TV History
2019 Swedish gamer and YouTuber PewDiePie overtaken by Indian channel T-Series as YouTube channel with most subscribers (both on 92 million)
