Diplomatic relations between the US and the Soviet Union were established. (1933) US President Roosevelt telegrammed Maxim Litvinov, the Soviet Leader, stating he hoped the relationship between the countries would be “normal and friendly.”
The first woman in modern history was elected to lead a Muslim country. (1988) Benazir Bhutto was elected as Pakistan’s Prime Minister. She served in office until 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996.
The space probe Venera 3 was launched by the Soviet Union and became the first to land on the surface of another planet. (1965) The spacecraft crash landed on Venus, but it failed to return any planetary information because its communication system failed.
Oklahoma entered the Union as the 46th US state. (1907) The Oklahoma and Indian territories were admitted together as Oklahoma. The US had gained control over the area in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act was signed. (1973) US President Richard Nixon signed the act, which authorized the construction on the Alaska Pipeline to begin. The line carries oil to Valdez, Alaska from Prudhoe Bay.
NASA launched Skylab 4. (1973) Skylab 4 was an 84-day space mission that took the final three astronauts to the Skylab space station, the first space station established by the US. This was the last Skylab mission.
Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky was sentenced to death. (1849) Dostoevsky was sentenced to die for alleged anti-government activities. He was placed before a firing squad, but his sentence was commuted to hard labor at the last second. He served four years in a Siberian labor camp.
The US government secretly brought 88 German scientists to the US to develop rocket technology. (1945) The US feared Russia was moving ahead in rocket development and wanted to work on technology similar to the V-1 and V-2 rockets used by the Nazi’s in World War II. Because the scientists previously worked for the Nazi regime, the move — termed “Operation Paperclip” — was highly controversial.
A US President visited Vietnam for the first time since the end of the Vietnam War. (2000) US President Bill Clinton made the first presidential visit since the war ended in 1975.
During World War II, the Allies bombed Dueren, Germany, to total destruction. (1944) The bombing obliterated the city, killing about 3,000 people in a population of 22,000; survivors were evacuated.
The US Federal Reserve Bank opened. (1914) There now are 12 Federal Reserve Banks covering the 12 geographic districts of the US banking system.
LSD was created. (1938) The psychedelic drug was first synthesized by Dr. Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist working at the Sandoz Laboratories in Switzerland.