This Day in History
In Alaska and in the Nation
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In Alaska
• In 1794, Capt. George Vancouver sailed from Baranof Island in Southeast Alaska after completing his surveys in Alaska.
• In 1932, the German flying boat Groenland-Wal landed in Juneau on an around-the-world flight.
• In 1959, a 140-foot flag pole was erected on the Anchorage City Hall lawn. At the time, it was Alaska's tallest flag pole.
• In 1960, for the second time in half a century, volcanic activity at Mount Katmai National Monument on the Alaska Peninsula showered ash as far as 100 miles away.
In the nation
• In 1787, inventor John Fitch demonstrated his steamboat on the Delaware River to delegates of the Continental Congress.
• In 1846, Gen. Stephen W. Kearny proclaimed all of New Mexico a territory of the United States.
• In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard M. Nixon were nominated for second terms in office by the Republican national convention in San Francisco.
• In 1989, Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton was shot to death in Oakland, Calif. (Gunman Tyrone Robinson was later sentenced to 32 years to life in prison.)
• In 1997, a federal official threw out the contentious Teamsters election because of alleged campaign fund-raising abuses, forcing union President Ron Carey into another race against James P. Hoffa.
• In 2002, President Bush proposed to end the government's "hands-off" policy in national forests and ease logging restrictions in fire-prone areas.
• In 2006, Paramount Pictures severed ties to Tom Cruise after 14 years, citing unacceptable conduct.