Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1693

A charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

1837

The Senate selected Richard Mentor Johnson as U.S. vice president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

1904

The Russo-Japanese War began.

1910

The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.

1915

D.W. Griffith's silent movie epic about the Civil War, "The Birth of a Nation," premiered in Los Angeles.

1922

President Harding had a radio installed in the White House.

1924

The first U.S. execution by gas took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City.

1973

Senate leaders named seven members of a select committee to investigate the Watergate scandal, including the chairman, Sam J. Ervin Jr., D-N.C.

1974

The three-man crew of the Skylab space station returned to Earth after 84 days.

1978

Senate deliberations were broadcast on radio for the first time as members opened debate on the Panama Canal treaties.

1980

President Jimmy Carter unveiled a plan to re-introduce draft registration.

1990

CBS News suspended resident humorist Andy Rooney for racial comments he supposedly made to a gay magazine, comments Rooney denied making.

1993

General Motors sued NBC, alleging that the "Dateline NBC" program had rigged two car-truck crashes to show that 1973-87 GM pickups were prone to fires in side impact crashes. NBC settled the lawsuit the following day.

1996

In a ceremony at the Library of Congress, President Clinton signed legislation revamping the telecommunications industry, saying it would "bring the future to our doorstep."

1999

The Senate heard closing arguments at President Clinton's impeachment trial, with House prosecutors challenging senators to "cleanse the office" and the president's attorney dismissing the case as one of partisan retribution.

1999

Jordan's King Hussein was laid to rest during a five-hour funeral in Amman attended by dignitaries from all over the world, including President Clinton and former presidents Bush, Carter and Ford.

1968

Three college students died in a confrontation with highway patrolmen in Orangeburg, S.C., during a civil rights protest against a whites-only bowling alley.