Today in 1845, Crawford Long of Jefferson, Georgia, used ether in childbirth for the first time. His first patient? His wife – who successfully gave birth to a baby girl.
Today in 1900, prohibitionist Carry Nation staged her first raid on a saloon, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas, smashing all the liquor bottles in sight. A radical in the temperance movement, she gained fame for carrying a hatchet and wrecking saloons as part of her anti-booze crusade.
Today in 1932, Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City. It was the largest indoor theater of the time.
Today in 1934, the first youth hostel in the United States opened – in Northfield, Massachusetts.
Today in 1937, Mae West performed her infamous “Adam & Eve” skit, which got her banned from NBC radio. Her name wasn’t even allowed to be mentioned on the air.
Today in 1968, Apollo Eight and its three astronauts made a safe, nighttime splashdown in the Pacific.
Today in 1984, a Gallup Poll named British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher the woman most admired by the American people. It marked the third consecutive year that the “Iron Lady” received that honor.
Today in 1986, Corazon Aquino, President of the Philippines, was named “Time” magazine’s Woman of the Year. The only other women to be honored in that way were Queen Elizabeth II (in 1952) and the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Warfield Simpson (in 1936).
Today in 1989, on a visit to Beeville, Texas, President Bush, told a gathering he was determined to bring deposed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega to justice "for poisoning the children of the United States" with illegal drugs. He made good on the promise and following the murder of a U.S. marine on the streets of Panama City, ordered troops to Panama. Noriega was captured and brought to the United States to stand trial. In April of 1992, Noriega was convicted on charges of racketeering, money laundering and drug trafficking -- he sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Today in 1999, the space shuttle "Discovery" and its seven-member crew returned to Earth after fixing the Hubble Space Telescope.
Today in 2004, radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reached earth. It was the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet.
Today in 2015, Iraqi forces retook the ISIS-held city of Ramadi (ISIS had first captured it in May).