1821 – Missouri became the 24th state of the United States.
1846 – The U.S. Congress established the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. James Smithson of England had made it possible with a gift of $500,000.
1869 – O.B. Brown of Malden, Massachusetts, patented the motion-picture projector.
1874 – Herbert Hoover, the 31st U.S. President, was born in West Branch, Iowa.
1977 – David Berkowitz, a 24-year-old postal worker, was arrested and charged with being the notorious “Son of Sam” serial killer who had terrorized New York City for the preceding year.
1995 – Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were indicted on 11 counts each for bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995; a blast that killed 168 people.
Chief Writing Wolf 