Today in history

1833 The first successful penny newspaper in the U.S., “The New York Sun,” was launched by Benjamin H. Day.

1838 Frederick Douglass boarded a train in Maryland on his way to freedom from being a slave.

1916 US President Woodrow Wilson signs Adamson Act, providing an 8-hour day on interstate railroads, preventing a national railroad strike

1935 Sir Malcolm Campbell became the first person to drive an automobile over 300 miles an hour. He reached 304.331 MPH on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

1951 “Search for Tomorrow” debuted on CBS-TV.

1954 “The Lone Ranger” was heard on radio for the final time after 2,956 episodes over a period of 21 years.

1964 Wilderness Act signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson

1966 The television series “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” ended after 14 years.

1967 WJPM TV channel 33 in Florence, SC (PBS) begins broadcasting

1967 The TV game show “What’s My Line?” broadcast its final episode. The show aired over 17 years on CBS.

1971 John Lennon leaves UK for NYC, never to return

1973 Jerry Lewis’ 8th Muscular Dystrophy telethon

1976 The U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars. The unmanned spacecraft took the first close-up, color photos of the planet’s surface.

1977 Last broadcast of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” on CBS

1981 David Brinkley left NBC News after 38 years to join with ABC.

1985 20th Space Shuttle Mission (51-I)-Discovery 6-returns to Earth

1989 The U.S. began shipping military aircraft and weapons, worth $65 million, to Columbia in its fight against drug lords.

1999 Mario Lemieux’s ownership group officially took over the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Lemieux became the first player in the modern era of sports to buy the team he had once played for.

2013 Hunters in Mississippi caught a 727-pound alligator.