Today in 1885, $100,000 had been raised in the US for pedestal the hold the Statue of Liberty.
Today in 1892,Lizzy Borden was arrested in Fall River, Massachusetts, for the hatchet murders of her father and stepmother. She was later acquitted.
Today in 1934, the island prison of Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay began accepting prisoners. It closed in 1963.
Today in 1948, ABC’s “News and Views" debuted. It was the last of the big three networks to launch a nightly newscast. NBC was first in February of that year, and CBS’ version had bowed in May.
Today in 1951, the first baseball game televised in color took place at Ebbets Field. The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Boston Braves 8 - 1.
Today in 1965, the Watts riots broke out in Los Angeles after police arrested a black man for drunken driving. The largest and costliest urban rebellion of the Civil Rights era, by the time is was over a week later, it left forty million dollars worth of property damage, 34 people dead and more than one-thousand injured.
Today in 1984, during a sound check for his weekly radio address, President Reagan joked, "My Fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you that I just signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." However, the mic was live and everyone heard him say it. International outcry followed.
Today in 1992, the Mall of America, the biggest shopping mall in the United States, opened in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Today in 1994, a federal jury awarded more than 10,000 commercial fishermen $286.8-million for losses suffered as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Today in 1997, President Clinton made the first use of the historic line-item veto approved by Congress, rejecting three items in spending and tax bills.
Today in 1998, the boys in the Jonesboro, Arkansas, schoolyard massacre had their final day in court. On what was his 14th birthday, Mitchell Johnson pleaded guilty to killing four classmates and a teacher and wounding 10 others. Another boy, 12-year-old Andrew Golden, pleaded not guilty “due to mental incompetence,” but still was found guilty. Both received the maximum penalty allowed by law: confinement to a juvenile center, perhaps until they turn 21. Johnson was released on August 11, 2005, on his 21st Golden was released on May 25, 2007, also his 21st birthday. They are the only living school shooters that are not incarcerated.
Today in 2003, NATO took over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside of Europe in its 54-year history.
Today in 2008, Airbnb was founded by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk. It’s since become valued at more than $25-billion.
Today in 2020, then-candidate for President Joe Biden announced California Senator Kamala Harris is his running mate, the first woman of color selected by a major party.