Today in history

1841 The State of Alabama enacted the first dental legislation in the U.S.

1862 U.S. President Lincoln signed an act admitting West Virginia to the Union.

1877 U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes became the first U.S. President to celebrate his silver (25th) wedding anniversary in the White House. 1879 Thomas Edison gave his first public demonstration of incandescent lighting to an audience in Menlo Park, NJ.

1891 New York’s new Immigration Depot was opened at Ellis Island, to provide improved facilities for the massive numbers of arrivals. 1897 Brooklyn, NY, spent its last day as a separate entity before becoming part of New York City. 1923 In London, the BBC first broadcast the chimes of Big Ben.

1929 Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played “Auld Lang Syne” as a New Year’s Eve song for the first time.

1946 U.S. President Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.

1947 Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were married. 1953 Willie Shoemaker broke his own record as he won his 485th race of the year.

1954 The last episode of the radio show “Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok” aired.

1955 General Motors became the first U.S. corporation to earn more than one billion dollars in a single year.

1974 Private U.S. citizens were allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years. 1997 Michael Kennedy, 39-year-old son of the late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain in Colorado.