Also on this date
In 1896, an Austrian newspaper, Wiener Presse, reported the discovery by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen of a type of radiation that came to be known as Xrays.
In 1914, auto industrialist Henry Ford announced he was going to pay workers $5 for an 8-hour day, as opposed to $2.34 for a 9-hour day. (Employees still worked six days a week; the 5-day work week was instituted in 1926.)
In 1925, Democrat Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming took office as America’s first female governor, succeeding her late husband, William, following a special election.
In 1943, educator and scientist George Washington Carver, who was born into slavery, died in Tuskegee, Alabama, at about age 80.
In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed assistance to countries to help them resist communist aggression in what became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine.
In 1972, President Richard Nixon announced that he had ordered development of the space shuttle.
In 1998, Sonny Bono, the 1960s pop star-turned-politician, was killed when he struck a tree while skiing at a resort on the Nevada-California state line; he was 62.
Ten years ago: Speaking at the Pentagon, President Barack Obama launched a reshaping of the military, vowing to preserve U.S. preeminence even as the Army and Marine Corps cut troop levels and the administration considered reducing its nuclear arsenal.
Five years ago: President-elect Donald Trump, in a series of tweets, urged Republicans and Democrats to “get together” to design a replacement for President Barack Obama’s health care law.
One year ago: Georgia voters turned out for Senate runoff elections that would result in victories for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and give Democrats control of the Senate — with 50 seats and the tie-breaking vote of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.