---

1845 - US President James Polk signs act admitting Texas into union.

---

1862 - Battle of Chichasaw Bayou: confederate armies defeat General Sherman.

---

1930 - Fred P Newton completes longest swim ever (1826 miles), when he swam in the Mississippi River from Ford Dam, Minnesota, to New Orleans, Louisiana.

---

1938 - Construction on Lake Washington Floating Bridge, in Seattle, Washington, begins.

---

1941 - Japanese forces begin an attack on Corregidor, Philippines.

---

1948 - US State Department announces work on placing objects into Earth orbit.

---

1949 - First UHF television station operating regular basis (Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA).

---

1952 - First transistorized hearing aid offered for sale (Elmsford, New York).

---

1972 - Eastern Tristar Jumbo Jet crashes near Florida Everglades killing 101.

---

1972 - Life magazine ceases publication.

---