1663 | England created the Carolina Charter, gifting land in the American Southeast.
1745 | William Dawes, a Revolutionary War hero, was born.
1785 | Poet John Pierpont was born.
1789 | Congress: The U.S. Senate achieved its first quorum. It allowed it to act also as the Electoral College and certify the election of our first President.
1808 | Entrepreneur John Jacob Astor founded the American Fur Company.
1830 | Bishop James Augustine Healy was born.
1832 | Indian Wars: Black Hawk War starts.
1857 | Artist Arthur Wesley Dow was born.
1862 | Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh (with 23,000 causalities).
1865 | Civil War: The Battle of Sayler’s Creek.
1866 | The Grand Army of the Republic forms.
1866 | Journalist Joseph Lincoln Steffens was born.
1889 | Entrepreneur George Eastman began selling Kodak flexible rolled film.
1892 | Entrepreneur Donald Willis Douglas was born.
1896 | POTUS: President Harrison wed Mary Scott.
1917 | WWI: The U.S. declared war on Germany, joining World War I.
1937 | Singer Merle Haggard was born.
1947 | Actor John Ratzenberger was born.
1968 | Civil Rights: MLK-related riots continue in Jacksonville, Florida, and Baltimore, Maryland.
1969 | Actor Paul Rudd was born.
1992 | Author Isaac Asimov died.
1994 | SCOTUS: Justice Harry Blackmun resigns.
1997 | Journalist Andrea Mitchell wed economist Alan Greenspan.
1998 | Singer Tammy Wynette died.
2014 | Actor Mickey Rooney died.
2016 | Musician Merle Haggard died.
2020 | Baseball Pro (Detroit Tigers) Al Kaline died.