Today:
1648: Boston shoemakers form the first American labor organization. This marked an early instance of organized labor in the colonies.
1685: King Louis XIV of France revokes the Edict of Nantes. This decision stripped the Protestant Huguenots of religious and civil liberties.
1767: The Mason-Dixon line is agreed upon. This line established the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania and later became a symbolic dividing line between the northern and southern United States.
1851: Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick” is first published in London under the title “The Whale.” It would be published under its more famous title in the United States a month later.
1867: The United States takes possession of Alaska from Russia. The territory was purchased for $7.2 million.
1898: The United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain. This followed the conclusion of the Spanish-American War.
1922: The British Broadcasting Company, Ltd. (BBC) is established. It would later become the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1927.
1931: Inventor Thomas Edison dies at the age of 84. He was a prolific inventor, holding over 1,000 patents for inventions such as the phonograph and the practical incandescent light bulb.
1962: The Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded to James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins for their discovery of the DNA double helix structure.
1977: Reggie Jackson earns the nickname “Mr. October” by hitting three consecutive home runs in Game 6 of the World Series, leading the New York Yankees to victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.