On this date
In 1790, President George Washington signed the first United States Patent Act.
In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was incorporated.
In 1912, the British liner RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage.
In 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey purchased the contract of Jackie Robinson from the Montreal Royals.
In 1968, at a ceremony delayed by the assassination of and funeral for Martin Luther King Jr., “In the Heat of the Night” won best picture of 1967 at the 40th Academy Awards; one of its stars, Rod Steiger, was named best actor while Katharine Hepburn was honored as best actress for “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”
In 1971, a table tennis team from the United States arrived in China at the invitation of the communist government for a goodwill visit that came to be known as “pingpong diplomacy.”
In 1978, Arkady Shevchenko, a high-ranking Soviet citizen employed by the United Nations, sought political asylum in the United States.
Ten years ago: The U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially renamed Squaw Peak in Phoenix Piestewa Peak, in honor of Army Spc. Lori Piestewa, who was killed in Iraq in 2003 and posthumously promoted from the rank of Private First Class.
Five years ago: The financially beleaguered U.S. Postal Service backpedaled on its plan to end Saturday mail delivery.
One year ago: Justice Neil Gorsuch took his place as the newest addition on the bench of the Supreme Court
Associated Press