This Day in History
In Alaska
• In 1741, Vitus Bering, early Russian explorer, died on Bering Island after his ship was cast ashore following his second voyage to Alaska.
• In 1900, the steamer City of Topeka was wrecked on Sullivan Island near Haines but was later salvaged.
• In 1967, Atlantic Richfield's discovery well struck oil and natural gas in Prudhoe Bay.
• In 1978, the Fairbanks City Council voted to do away with the small zoo at Alaskaland.
• In 1979, "STAR TREK - The Motion Picture" premiered in Alaska in Anchorage area theaters.
In the nation
• In 1776, George Washington's retreating army in the American Revolution crossed the Delaware River from New Jersey to Pennsylvania.
• In 1863, President Lincoln announced his plan for the Reconstruction of the South.
• In 1886, the American Federation of Labor was founded in Columbus, Ohio.
• In 1914, "Watch Your Step," the first musical revue to feature a score composed entirely by Irving Berlin, opened in New York.
• In 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan, a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• In 1980, rock star John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by an apparently deranged fan.
• In 1993, President Clinton signed into U.S. law the North American Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect at the start of 1994.
• In 1998, struggling to stave off impeachment, President Clinton's defenders forcefully pleaded his case before the House Judiciary Committee. The Supreme Court ruled that police cannot search people and their cars after merely ticketing them for routine traffic violations. San Francisco and several suburbs suffered a power blackout; it was more than seven hours before electricity was fully restored.
• In 2002, Iraq's massive dossier detailing its chemical, biological and nuclear programs arrived in New York; the U.N. Security Council agreed to give full copies to the United States and the four other permanent council members - Britain, France, Russia and China.
In the world
• In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.