This Day in History
In Alaska, in the Nation and the World
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In Alaska
• In 1913, the Anchorage Daily News began publication with Norman Brown as editor.
• In 1948, Eielson Air Force Base near Anchorage was dedicated.
• In 1959, a masked bandit robbed a Fairbanks bank of $14,014.
• In 1979, bagpipes serenaded Gov. Jay Hammond and his wife, Bella, as they entered each of three inaugural balls honoring Hammond's second term.
In the nation
• In 1794, President George Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union. (The number of stripes was later reduced to the original 13.)
• In 1966, Robert C. Weaver was named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Lyndon Johnson; Weaver became the first black Cabinet member.
• In 1982, an Air Florida 737 crashed into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge after takeoff and fell into the Potomac River, killing 78 people.
• In 1990, L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation's first elected black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond.
• In 1998, Linda Tripp wore a hidden microphone for the FBI and recorded a conversation with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
• In 2002, the off-Broadway musical "The Fantasticks" finished its original run of nearly 42 years and 17,162 shows.
• In 2003, Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman jumped into the 2004 race for president. The owners of FAO Schwarz filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.