US President Richard Nixon insisted he was not a crook. (1973) President Nixon spoke to more than 400 editors from the Associated Press at a gathering in Orlando, Florida, at Walt Disney World. He famously stated that “people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.” President Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974, during the Watergate Scandal investigations and in the face of likely impeachment and conviction. He was the first US President to resign from office.
The first session of the US Congress was held. (1800) Congress met in the US Capitol building in Washington D.C., which was still under construction.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) was founded. (1871) George Wood Wingate and William Conant Church established the group by gaining a charter in New York. Today, the group has more than four million members.
The first patent for a computer mouse was awarded. (1970) American inventor Douglas Engelbart was issued the patent. His first mouse had a wooden casing and metal wheels.
Transistor principals were observed by two American scientists, leading to the invention of the transistor. (1947) Scientists Walter Brattain and John Bardeen shared the information with American inventor and physicist William Bradford Shockley Jr., and the three worked together to invent the transistor. All three were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention. The transistor is the basic technology behind nearly all electronic devices used today.
The Suez Canal opened. (1869) The canal connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea through modern-day Egypt. Construction took 10 years and initially began with forced labor using picks and shovels.
The first Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) began. (1969) The SALT I negotiations were an arms reduction conversation between the US and the Soviet Union. The two sides hoped to reign in the Cold War arms race. The talks continued for three years and led to the SALT I agreement being signed on May 26, 1972. The agreement led to further arms control treaties and agreements being signed, including SALT II and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
The first remote-controlled robot landed on another celestial body. (1970) The rover robot, called Lunokhod 1, was launched by the Soviet Union and successfully landed on the Moon. The rover was part of the Soviet Union’s Lunokhod space program.
The first American viewed Antarctica. (1820) American seal hunter and sailing captain Nathaniel Palmer and his exploration team discovered the Antarctic Peninsula, which was later named after him in the US as Palmer Peninsula. It now is called Antarctic Peninsula because other countries had likewise named it after their own explorers and some consistency was required.
Kmart bought Sears, Roebuck and Co., forming one of the largest retail corporations in the US. (2004) The $11 billion US Dollar (USD) sale led to the merger of the Kmart Holdings Corporation and Sears, Roebuck and Co., creating the Sears Holding Corporation.