| On this date in: |
| 1776 |
The first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. |
| 1782 |
Martin Van Buren, the eighth U.S. president and the first to be born after the country was formed, was born in Kinderhook, N.Y. |
| 1791 |
Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna at age 35. |
| 1792 |
George Washington was re-elected president and John Adams was re-elected vice president. |
| 1831 |
Former President John Quincy Adams took his seat as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. |
| 1848 |
President James K. Polk triggered the Gold Rush of ’49 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California. |
| 1901 |
Movie producer Walt Disney was born in Chicago. |
| 1955 |
The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO. |
| 1994 |
Republicans chose Newt Gingrich to be the first GOP speaker of the House in four decades. |
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| AP Photo/John Dericka |
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| 1996 |
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan questioned whether the stock market was overvalued due to investors’ “irrational exuberance.” |
| 2002 |
Senate Republican leader Trent Lott praised Strom Thurmond’s pro-segregation 1948 presidential campaign. The ensuing uproar led to Lott’s resignation from the Senate leadership. |
| 2006 |
New York became the first city in the nation to ban artery-clogging trans fats at restaurants. |
| 2008 |
A judge in Las Vegas sentenced O.J. Simpson to 33 years in prison (with eligibility for parole after nine) for an armed robbery at a hotel room. |
