1752 – Through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin, the Pennsylvania Hospital opened. It was the very first hospital in America.
1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary, left Springfield, IL by train for Washington, D.C.
1916 – The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presented its first concert. The symphony was the first by a municipal orchestra to be supported by taxes.
1916 – Birth control pioneer Emma Goldman was arrested in New York City for lecturing and distributing materials about birth control.
1958 – Ruth Carol Taylor was the first black woman to become a stewardess (flight attendant) by making her initial flight this day on Mohawk Airlines from Ithaca, NY to New York City.
1966 – Willie Mays became the highest-paid baseball player in either league as he signed a two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants for a salary of about $130,000 a year.
1968 – The new 20,000 seat Madison Square Garden officially opened in New York City. It was the fourth arena to be named Madison Square Garden.
1970 – Japan launches its first satellite from the Kagoshima Space Center, becoming the world’s fourth space power.
1989 – The Rev. Barbara C. Harris of Boston was consecrated as the first female bishop in the 450-year history of the Anglican Church.
1990 – Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s leading antiapartheid figure, was freed after 27 years in prison.
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