This Day in History
In Alaska
• In 1904, Nome police chief Charles Jewett was suspended from his post, accused of accepting bribes from arrestees and "fallen women without due process of law." He was reinstated after 30 minutes.
• In 1907, the Tongass National Forest was established in Southeast Alaska.
• In 1918, the "golden spike" was driven in the railroad that connected Seward and Anchorage.
• In 1949, the director of the Boston Museum proposed installing a cosmic ray laboratory at 18,000-foot Denali Pass on Mount McKinley.
• In 1959, the Kenai Unit #1 well, a joint venture between Union Oil Co. and Ohio Oil Co., set a new Alaska record depth of 14,415 feet. The previous record had been held by Humble Oil Co.
• In 1969, Alaska's oil lease sale pumped nine hundred million dollars into Alaska's economy as 179 tracts of potentially oil-rich North Slope lands were leased.
• In 1969, former State Attorney General Edgar Paul Boyko filed suit to stop the awarding of 33 of the 179 state oil-lease tracts.
In the nation
• In 1608, John Smith was elected president of the Jamestown colony council in Virginia.
• In 1813, an American naval force commanded by Oliver H. Perry defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.
• In 1846, Elias Howe received a patent for his sewing machine.
• In 1919, New York City welcomed home Gen. John J. Pershing and 25,000 soldiers who'd served in the U.S. 1st Division during World War I.
• In 1948, American-born Mildred Gillars, accused of being Nazi wartime radio broadcaster "Axis Sally," was indicted in Washington, D.C., for treason. She was later convicted, and served 12 years in prison.
• In 1955, "Gunsmoke" premiered on CBS television.
• In 1963, 20 black students entered Alabama public schools following a standoff between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace.
• In 1993, First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton lashed out at what she called "standpat, negative, nay-saying" opponents of health reform in an address to state legislators at George Washington University. The cult series "The X-Files" premiered on Fox Television.
In the world
• In 1939, Canada declared war on Nazi Germany.
• In 1945, Vidkun Quisling was sentenced to death in Norway for collaborating with the Nazis.