On this date

In 1795,

the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, dealing with states’ sovereign immunity, was ratified.

In 1817,

America’s first public gas street lamp was lighted in Baltimore at the corner of Market and Lemon streets (now East Baltimore and Holliday streets).

In 1948,

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as U.S. Army chief of staff; he was succeeded by Gen. Omar Bradley.

In 1962,

President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba.

In 1971,

women in Switzerland gained the right to vote through a national referendum.

In 1984,

space shuttle Challenger astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered spacewalk, which lasted nearly six hours.

In 1998,

the Winter Olympic Games were opened in Nagano, Japan, by Emperor Akihito.

Ten years ago:

A gunman opened fire at a Kirkwood, Mo., council meeting, killing three city officials and two police officers before being fatally shot by law enforcement.

Five years ago:

CIA Director-designate John Brennan defended antiterror attacks by unmanned drones under close questioning at a protest-disrupted confirmation hearing held by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

One year ago:

Charter school advocate Betsy DeVos won confirmation as education secretary by the slimmest of margins, pushed to approval only by the historic tiebreaking vote of Vice President Mike Pence.