Events
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion.
- 1825 – After no presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams President of the United States.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.
- 1870 – The U.S. Weather Bureau is established.
- 1885 – The first Japanese government-approved immigrants arrive in Hawaii.
- 1889 – The United States Department of Agriculture is established as a Cabinet-level agency.
- 1895 – William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.
- 1900 – The Davis Cup competition is established.
- 1942 – World War II: Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
- 1942 – Year-round Daylight saving time is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.
- 1943 – World War II: Allied authorities declare Guadalcanal secure after Imperial Japan evacuates its remaining forces from the island, ending the Battle of Guadalcanal.
- 1950 – Second Red Scare: Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with Communists.
- 1960 – Joanne Woodward receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- 1964 – The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a "record-busting" audience of 73 million viewers.
- 1965 – Vietnam War: The first United States combat troops are sent to South Vietnam.
- 1969 – First test flight of the Boeing 747.
- 1971 – The 6.4 on the Richter Scale Sylmar earthquake hits the San Fernando Valley area of California.
- 1971 – Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned moon landing.
- 1973 – Biju Patnaik of the Pragati Legislature Party is elected leader of the opposition in the state assembly in Orissa, India.
- 1995 – Space Shuttle astronauts Bernard A. Harris, Jr. and Michael Foale become the first African American and first Briton, respectively, to perform spacewalks.
- 2001 – The American submarine USS Greeneville accidentally strikes and sinks the Ehime-Maru, a Japanese training vessel operated by the Uwajima Fisheries High School.