This Day in History

In Alaska

• Photos

• In 1913, a bill to create the Alaska Railroad was introduced in the U.S. Senate.

• In 1954, the Bureau of Indian Affairs approved construction of a school at the Yukon-Kuskoquim delta village of Alakanuk. A fire caused $50,000 damage to the Aleutian Bowling Lanes in Anchorage.

In the nation

• In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law a sweeping civil rights bill.

In the world

• In 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator.

• In 1998, CNN retracted a story alleging U.S. commandos had used nerve gas to kill American defectors during the war.