1840 – The Electro-Magnet, and Mechanics Intelligencer, 1st US electrical journal, appears
1850 – British blockade Piraeus, Greece, to enforce mercantile claims
1944 – The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers were Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
1948 – Ted Mack’s “Original Amateur Hour” begins, DuMont (later NBC/ABC/CBS)
1951 – Mount Lamington in Papua New Guinea erupts, killing 2,942 people
1956 – German Democratic Republic (East Germany) forms own army (National People’s Army)
1961 – Zanzibar’s Afro-Shirazi party wins 1 seat by a single vote and parliament by a single seat
1965 – H L de Vries appointed Dutch governor of Suriname
1969 – United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay, killing all 38 people on-board
2014 – 20th Screen Actors Guild Awards: Matthew McConaughey and Cate Blanchett win