LOOKING BACK

1956: Abstract painter Jackson Pollock, 44, died in an automobile accident on Long Island, N.Y.

1965: Rioting and looting that claimed 34 lives broke out in the predominantly black Watts section of Los Angeles.

1997: President Bill Clinton made the first use of the historic line-item veto, rejecting three items in spending and tax bills. (However, the U.S. Supreme Court later struck down the veto as unconstitutional.)