On this date
In 1690, the first paper money in America was issued by the Massachusetts Bay Colony to finance a military expedition to Canada.
In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.
In 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, the same day an American cargo ship, the SS Housatonic, was sunk by a U-boat off Britain after the crew was allowed to board lifeboats.
In 1943, during World War II, the U.S. transport ship SS Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo in the Labrador Sea; of the more than 900 men aboard, only some 230 survived. (Four Army chaplains on board gave away their life jackets to save others and went down with the ship.)
In 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first man-made object to make a soft landing on the moon.
In 1988, the U.S. House of Representatives handed President Ronald Reagan a major defeat, rejecting his request for $36.2 million in new aid to the Nicaraguan Contras by a vote of 219-211.
In 1998, Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, 38, for the pickax killings of two people in 1983; she was the first woman executed in the United States since 1984.
Ten years ago: The New York Giants scored a late touchdown to win Super Bowl XLII, 17-14, ending the New England Patriots’ run at a perfect season; Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who hit Plaxico Burress on a 13-yard fade with 35 seconds left, was named most valuable player.
Five years ago: A fired Los Angeles police officer launched a revenge war on law enforcement and the families of those he blamed for ending his career, killing four people during a 6-day manhunt that ended with his apparent suicide at a cabin in San Bernardino County.
One year ago: President Donald Trump launched his long-promised attack on banking rules enacted after the nation’s economic crisis, signing new orders after meeting with business and investment chiefs and pledging further action to free big banks from restrictions.