Today in 1960, the Food and Drug Administration approved a pill for birth control use. G.D. Searle and Company of Chicago made the pill, Enovid.
Today in 1962, a laser beam was successfully bounced off the Moon for the first time.
Today in 1980, the slasher/horror classic, "Friday the 13th,” was released in theaters nationwide.
Today in 1994, South Africa's newly elected parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the country's first black president. The move officially ended the era of apartheid.
Today in 1997, Andrew Cunanan, who would soon kill famed designer Gianni Versace, killed 45-year-old William Reese, a cemetery caretaker, while attempting to steal his Chevrolet pick-up. Cunanan was already wanted for the murders of David Madson, Jeffrey Trail, and Lee Miglin.
Today in 2000, former four-term Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards was convicted of extortion schemes to manipulate the licensing of riverboat casinos. Edwards was later sentenced to ten years in prison and fined a quarter of a million dollars.
Today in 2012, President Barack Obama officially stated his support for same-sex marriage. The latest flip (he had openly opposed it, then supported it, then opposed it again), not surprisingly, was in the middle of an election cycle. His announcement of this position marked the first time a sitting United States president publicly was in favor of the controversial topic.
Today in 2017, President Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, ousting the nation’s top law enforcement official in the midst of an FBI investigation into whether Trump’s campaign had ties to Russia’s meddling in the election that sent him to the White House.
Today in 2018, the oldest viral DNA – a form of hepatitis B – was revealed as discovered in a seven-thousand-year-old skeleton found in Germany.
Today in 2019, Pope Francis introduced new rules on reporting sexual abuse in the Catholic Church – and was criticized for not going far enough.