On this date

In 1842,

Crawford W. Long, a doctor from Jefferson, Ga., first used ether as an anesthetic during an operation to remove a patient’s neck tumor.

In 1867,

U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward reached agreement with Russia to purchase the territory of Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal ridiculed by critics as “Seward’s Folly.”

In 1870,

the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited denying citizens the right to vote and hold office on the basis of race, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish.

In 1959,

a narrowly divided U.S. Supreme Court, in Bartkus v. Illinois, ruled that a conviction in state court following an acquittal in federal court for the same crime did not constitute double jeopardy.

In 1964,

the original version of the TV game show “Jeopardy!,” hosted by Art Fleming, premiered on NBC.

In 1975,

as the Vietnam War neared its end, Communist forces occupied the city of Da Nang.

In 2002,

Britain’s Queen Mother Elizabeth died at Royal Lodge, Windsor, outside London; she was 101 years old.

Ten years ago:

Cambodian-born journalist Dith Pran, whose story became the subject of the awardwinning film “The Killing Fields,” died in New Brunswick, N.J., at age 65.

Five years ago:

Phil Ramone, 79, the masterful award-winning engineer, arranger and producer, died in New York.

One year ago:

North Carolina rolled back its “bathroom bill” in a bid to end a yearlong backlash over transgender rights that had cost the state dearly in business projects, conventions and basketball tournaments.