Today:
1399 – Henry IV was proclaimed King of England after Richard II was forced to abdicate, beginning the rule of the House of Lancaster.
1791 – Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute premiered at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. Mozart conducted the orchestra at the premiere.
1846 – Dentist William T. G. Morton used ether as an anesthetic while extracting a tooth, helping demonstrate the potential of ether for pain-free surgery.
1882 – The world’s first commercial hydroelectric power plant began operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, providing electricity to a paper mill and nearby homes.
1927 – Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the season for the New York Yankees, establishing a Major League Baseball single-season record that stood for 34 years.
1935 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. The massive engineering project provided hydroelectric power, flood control and water supplies to the American Southwest.
1947 – The first game of the 1947 World Series was played between the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers. It was the first World Series to feature a racially integrated team, with Jackie Robinson playing for Brooklyn.
1955 – Actor James Dean died at age 24 when his Porsche collided with another vehicle near Cholame, California. His films Rebel Without a Cause and Giant were released after his death.
1960 – The Flintstones premiered on ABC. The animated sitcom was the first prime-time animated television series and ran for six seasons.
1982 – The television series Cheers premiered on NBC. Despite low ratings during its first season, it eventually became one of the most acclaimed and popular sitcoms in American television history.