Today:
1791: John Wesley, the English cleric who co-founded the Methodist movement, passes away in London at the age of 87.
1836: The Texas Declaration of Independence is adopted at Washington-on-the-Brazos, formally announcing the Republic of Texas’s separation from Mexico.
1867: The United States Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act, which divides the former Confederate states into five military districts.
1877: Just two days before the inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 presidential election despite Samuel J. Tilden winning the popular vote.
1904: Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as the beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss, is born in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1917: The Jones–Shafroth Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, granting United States citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico.
1933: The original King Kong film, featuring groundbreaking stop-motion effects by Willis O’Brien, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
1943: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea begins in the South West Pacific, where Allied air forces attack a Japanese troop convoy.
1962: Wilt Chamberlain sets an enduring NBA record by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a victory over the New York Knicks.
1969: The Anglo-French supersonic airliner Concorde makes its first test flight, taking off from Toulouse, France.