On this date
In 1933, the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the so-called “lame duck” amendment, was proclaimed in effect by Secretary of State Henry Stimson.
In 1952, Britain’s King George VI, 56, died at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England; he was succeeded as monarch by his 25-year-old elder daughter, who became Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1995, the space shuttle Discovery flew to within 37 feet of the Russian space station Mir.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed a bill changing the name of Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, on Reagan’s 87th birthday.
In 2003, edging closer to war, President George W. Bush declared “the game is over” for Saddam Hussein and urged skeptical allies to join in disarming Iraq.
In 2008, the Bush White House defended the use of the interrogation technique known as waterboarding, saying it was legal — not torture as critics argued — and had saved American lives.
In 2014, Jay Leno said goodbye to NBC’s “The Tonight Show” for the second time, making way for Jimmy Fallon to take over as host.
Ten years ago: Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, delivering the keynote address at the first national convention of the tea party coalition in Nashville, declared, “America is ready for another revolution.”
Five years ago: President Barack Obama warned against American “overreach” as he outlined a new national security blueprint for his last two years in office; the president vowed to degrade extremist groups using counterterrorism operations and global coalitions, not large-scale, American-led ground wars.
One year ago: A woman went public with a sexual assault accusation against Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax; Gov. Ralph Northam was already battling to hang on to his office amid an uproar over a racist photo in a 1984 yearbook.