Today:
1. 1804: The first self-propelling steam locomotive, Richard Trevithick’s “Puffing Devil,” is demonstrated in Wales.
2. 1848: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish “The Communist Manifesto” in London.
3. 1878: The first telephone directory is issued by the District Telephone Company of New Haven, Connecticut.
4. 1965: Malcolm X is assassinated in New York City.
5. 1972: Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. president to visit China.
6. 1995: Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon.