1687: The French explorer La Salle is murdered by his own men while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
1702: On the death of William III of Orange, Anne Stuart, sister of Mary, succeeds to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1822: Boston is incorporated as a city.
1903: The U.S. Senate ratifies the Cuban treaty, gaining naval bases in Guantanamo and Bahia Honda.
1917: The Adamson Act, eight-hour day for railroad workers, is ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
1918: Congress authorizes Daylight Savings Time.
1920: The U.S. Senate rejects the Versailles Treaty for the second time.
1931: The state of Nevada legalizes gambling.
1945: Adolf Hitler orders a scorched-earth policy for his retreating German armies in the west and east.
1963: In Costa Rica, President John F. Kennedy and six Latin American presidents pledge to fight Communism.
1981: One technician is killed and two others are injured during a routine test on space shuttle Columbia.
Source: HistoryNet.com