This Day in History
In Alaska
• In 1913, the bill creating the Alaska Pioneer's Home was approved by Walter E. Clark, Governor of the Territory of Alaska.
• In 1940, Juneau changed its clocks to Seattle time, 14 years after Ketchikan led the way.
• In 1967, while the rest of the U.S. went on Daylight Savings Time, Alaska remained on Standard Time, due to a one-year exemption from the Uniform Time Act.
• In 1975, former Gov. William Egan accepted a job managing a pension fund for the Electrical Workers Union and the Electrical Contractors Association.
In the nation
• In 1789, George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States.
• In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million.
• In 1812, Louisiana became the 18th state of the Union.
• In 1900, engineer John Luther "Casey" Jones of the Illinois Central Railroad died in a wreck near Vaughan, Miss., after staying at the controls in an effort to save the passengers. Hawaii was organized as a U.S. territory.
• In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened in St. Louis as President Theodore Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key at the White House to signal the official start of the world's fair commemorating the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase, albeit a year late. The fair drew some 20 million visitors before it closed the following December.
• In 1939, the New York World's Fair officially opened.
• In 1970, President Nixon announced the U.S. was sending troops into Cambodia, an action that sparked widespread protest.
• In 1973, President Nixon announced the resignations of top aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, along with Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and White House counsel John Dean.