Today:
1789 – The U.S. House of Representatives held its first full meeting in New York City.
1826 – Samuel Morey patented the internal combustion engine.
1853 – Cincinnati became the first U.S. city to pay its firefighters a regular salary.
1867 – Singapore became a British crown colony.
1873 – The British White Star Line’s RMS Atlantic sank off Nova Scotia, killing 535 people.
1924 – Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch (he served only nine months).
1939 – General Francisco Franco announced the end of the Spanish Civil War.
1945 – American forces launched the Battle of Okinawa, the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific during World War II.
1976 – Apple Computer Company was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.
2001 – Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.