On this date
In 1862,
President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill authorizing the Army Medal of Honor.
In 1909,
the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing for a federal income tax, and submitted it to the states. (It was declared ratified in February 1913.)
In 1957,
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was flown by helicopter from the White House to a secret mountaintop location as part of a drill involving a mock nuclear attack on Washington.
In 1960,
the Etch A Sketch Magic Screen drawing toy, invented by French electrician Andre Cassagnes, was first produced by the Ohio Art Co.
In 1962,
the Rolling Stones played their first-ever gig at The Marquee in London.
In 1967,
rioting erupted in Newark, N.J., over the police beating of a black taxi driver; 26 people were killed in the five days of violence that followed.
In 2003,
the USS Ronald Reagan, the first carrier named for a living president, was commissioned in Norfolk, Va.
Ten years ago:
Rebels in Nigeria set fire to an oil depot and loading tankers in Lagos, killing five people in the group’s first attack outside the Delta region.
Five years ago:
Afghanistan’s two rival candidates reached a breakthrough agreement brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to allow a complete audit of their contested presidential election. (Former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani won over former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.)
One year ago:
After an emergency gathering of NATO leaders held to address his criticisms, President Donald Trump said the U.S. commitment to the alliance “remains very strong,” despite reports that he had threatened to pull out in a dispute over defense spending.