This Day in History
In Alaska
• In 1914, the post office of Akutan was established with Hugh McGlasham Sr. as postmaster.
• In 1926, the post office of Port Alexander, on Baranof Island in Southeast Alaska, was established with Dorothy M. Stoddard as postmaster.
• In 1962, drilling began on an exploratory offshore Richfield oil well connected to shore by a 2,300-foot causeway in Wide Bay, 150 miles west of Kodiak - a first in Alaska oil exploration.
In the nation
• In 1769, Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, received its charter.
• In 1862, Union forces suffered a major defeat to the Confederates at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
• In 1964, in El Paso, Texas, President Johnson and Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz set off an explosion that diverted the Rio Grande, reshaping the U.S.-Mexican border and ending a century-old dispute.
• In 1978, the Philadelphia Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which went into circulation the following July.
• In 1993, the space shuttle Endeavour returned from its mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that people were entitled to a hearing before real property linked to illegal drug sales could be seized.
• In 1999, in a spirited presidential campaign debate, Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., fought over tax policy and farm subsidies, while McCain was pushed to defend his centerpiece campaign finance proposals.
• In 2003, Oklahoma quarterback Jason White won the Heisman Trophy. Former Sen. William V. Roth Jr., R-Del., creator of Roth IRA accounts, died in Washington at age 82.
In the world
• In 1577, Sir Francis Drake of England set out with five ships on a nearly three-year journey that would take him around the world.
• In 1918, President Wilson arrived in France, becoming the first chief executive to visit Europe while in office.
• In 1944, during World War II, the U.S. cruiser Nashville was badly damaged in a Japanese kamikaze attack that claimed more than 130 lives.