On this date...

On this day in 1690 (or 1691), the Massachusetts Bay Colony printed £40,000 in paper money, an act that was technically banned by the English crown. This was the first time paper money became widespread in the West, but after conflicts such as King William's War and the French and Indian War, the cash rapidly depreciated by almost 40 percent within a year. Regardless, other American colonies began printing money too.

In 1776, in the day’s General Orders, Washington emphasizes control over arms: Officers who have purchased weapons are ordered to deliver them first to the commissary for inspection, ensuring that only serviceable arms reach the ranks.

In 1780, in one of the most famous crimes of post-Revolution America, Barnett Davenport committed a mass murder in rural Connecticut. Caleb Mallory, his wife, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren were killed in their home by their boarder, Davenport. It would contribute to a change in the way the young nation views crime and criminals.

In 1809, the territory of Illinois was created.

In 1865, in a personal meeting with Confederate representatives, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln offered liberal pardons in exchange for the South's quitting the Civil War, with reunion as a precondition of peace—an offer that was rejected.

In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, granting voting rights regardless of race.

In 1880, Theodore Roosevelt reported in his diary: "Snowing heavily, but I drove over in my sleigh to Chestnut Hill, the horse plunging to his belly in the great drifts, and the wind cutting my face like a knife. My sweet life was just as lovable and pretty as ever; it seems hardly possible that I can kiss her and hold her in my arms; she is so pure and so innocent, and so very, very pretty. I have never done anything to deserve such good fortune."

In 1889, the outlaw Belle Starr is killed when an unknown assailant fatally wounds the famous “Bandit Queen” with two shotgun blasts from behind.

In 1908, A group of American artists, later known as The Eight, opened an exhibit at Macbeth Gallery in New York City. These artists included Arthur B. Davies, William J. Glackens, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawson, George Luks, Maurice Prendergast, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan.

In 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, granting Congress the authority to levy income taxes, was ratified.

In 1917, not yet involved in World War I, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany after the Germans announced their intention to practice unrestricted submarine warfare.

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; only some 230 of the 900 aboard survived.

In 1944, American forces invaded and took control](http://Finally, the Division halted movement for the night of 3 February and issued a new order for the 32nd Regiment to finish off the last 600 yards or so of island clearing remaining.

In 1953, to halt a steep ratings slide, NBC's "Today Show" hired chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs to co-host. With a wardrobe of 450 outfits and impressive comedic and piano chops, the simian star scored the network millions in ad sales.

In 1959, American rock 'n' roll singer Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash at age 22. Holly was known for his distinctive style of playing the electric guitar.

In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Edgar D. Mitchell landed on the lunar surface during the third successful manned mission to the moon.

In 1988, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected President Ronald Reagan's request for more than $36 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton lifted a 19-year-old trade embargo of the Republic of Vietnam. The embargo had been in place since 1975, when North Vietnamese forces captured the city of Saigon in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

In 1995, Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle.

In 1998, Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker for the pickax killings of two people in 1983.

In 2005, Alberto R. Gonzales was sworn in as the attorney general of the United States, becoming the first Hispanic American to occupy the post.

In 2012, Federal prosecutors dropped their investigation of Lance Armstrong, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the seven-time Tour de France winner and his teammates had participated in a doping program.