On this date
In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the Grand Canyon National Monument. (It became a national park in 1919.)
In 1935, aviator Amelia Earhart began an 18-hour trip from Honolulu to Oakland, Calif., that made her the first person to fly solo across any part of the Pacific Ocean. In 1942, Japan declared war against the Netherlands, the same day that Imperial Japanese forces invaded the Dutch East Indies.
In 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issued “Smoking and Health,” a report that concluded “cigarette smoking contributes substantially to mortality from certain specific diseases and to the overall death rate.”
In 1977, France set off an international uproar by releasing Abu Daoud, a PLO official behind the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
In 1989, nine days before leaving the White House, President Ronald Reagan bade the nation farewell in a prime-time address, saying of his eight years in office: “We meant to change a nation and instead we changed a world.”
In 2003, calling the death penalty process “arbitrary and capricious, and therefore immoral,” Illinois Gov. George Ryan commuted the sentences of 167 condemned inmates, clearing his state’s death row two days before leaving office.
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq ran into criticism on Capitol Hill from both Democrats and Republicans.
Five years ago: French TV cameraman Gilles Jacquier was killed while filming a pro-government rally in Homs, Syria; he was the first Western journalist to die in the Syrian uprising.
One year ago: Baseball Hall of Famer Monte Irvin, 96, died in Houston.