Today in 1927, Ty Cobb set a major-league baseball record by getting his 4,000th career hit. He hit 4,191 before he retired in 1928.
Today in 1947, President Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act, which placed the speaker of the House and the Senate President pro tempore next in the line of succession after the Vice President.
Today in 1969, Ted Kennedy’s car went off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. While he escaped, his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne [[ko-PECK-nee]] drowned. The accident went unreported for hours, and some of the details remain a mystery to this day.
Today in 1976, 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci of Romania scored seven perfect scores in women’s gymnastics at the summer Olympics in Montreal.
Today in 1976, Lyme disease – the serious, potentially fatal arthritic condition was named. Contracted from deer tick bites, the disease got its name from the Connecticut town near where the disease was first reported.
Today in 1986, the world got its first look at the remains of the Titanic as videotapes of the British luxury liner, which sank in 1912, were released by researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Today in 1995, opening statements were presented in the trial of Susan Smith, the South Carolina woman charged with drowning her two young sons. She was later convicted and sentence to life in prison.
Today in 1995, the oldest known musical instrument in the world was found in the Indrijca River Valley in Slovenia. The 45,000 year-old relic was a bear bone with four artificial holes along its length.
Today in 2008, one of the world’s largest mobile cranes collapsed at a refinery in southeast Houston, killing four people and injuring seven others.
Today in 2013, the city of Detroit, Michigan filed for bankruptcy to become the largest US municipal bankruptcy in history at $18.5-billion.
Today in 2018, Hawaii National Guard officials confirmed that lava from Kilauea volcano eruption had destroyed 700 homes and added 700 acres to the Big Island.