On this date...

Flying cows

In 1685, Fort St. Louis was established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay, forming the basis for France's claim to Texas

In 1735, the first opera was performed in America, "Flora," in Charleston, South Carolina

In 1776, British forces remained bottled up in Boston, but scarce supplies and a chronic lack of gunpowder prevented Washington from turning the siege into an assault.

In 1776, Lieutenant Henry Edwin Stanhope, a British army officer and prisoner of war, writes Washington from Massachusetts. Stanhope respectfully asks permission to travel to Providence to secure a personal loan, explaining that captivity without money makes his situation “very gloomy.”

In 1804, the Ohio legislature approved the establishment of Ohio University at Athens as the 1st university in Ohio; the first classes were held in 1809. It also became the first U.S. land-grant college upon its charter.

In 1850, the California Legislature created nine Bay Area counties

In 1856, the American Party (Know-Nothings) convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to nominate its first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore.

In 1861, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as provisional president of the Confederate States of America.

In 1865, the mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered control of the city to Union Brigadier General Alexander Schimmelfennig at 9:00 a.m.

In 1878, long-simmering tensions in Lincoln County, New Mexico, exploded into a bloody shooting war when gunmen murdered the English rancher John Tunstall.

In 1885, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was published in the US.

In 1893, the Barnum Museum opened in Bridgeport, Connecticut, dedicated to the life of P. T. Barnum.

In 1903, "In Dahomey" the first African American musical to perform on Broadway, opened at the New York Theater, starring George Walker and Bert Williams, with music by Will Marion Cook; it ran for 53 performances

In 1909, the Boston Red Sox traded Cy Young, at 41, to the Cleveland Naps

In 1910, the first recorded airplane flight took place in Texas. Louis Paulhan, a Frenchman, performed an aerial demonstration in Houston. 

In 1924, US Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby resigned due tothe Teapot Dome scandal

In 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the winners of the first Academy Awards on February 18, 1929. It was a far cry from the suspense, glamour, and endless press coverage surrounding the Oscars today: The first award recipients’ names were printed on the back page of the academy’s newsletter. A few days later, Variety published the information on page seven. The ceremony was then held in May.

In 1930, "Elm Farm Ollie" became the first cow to fly—and be milked—in an airplane. The milk was boxed and parachuted to spectators on the ground.

In 1930, Clyde Tombaugh, a 24-year-old American with no formal training in astronomy, discovered the dwarf planet Pluto.

In 1965, Church deacon Jimmie Lee Jackson was beaten and shot during a peaceful march in Marion, Alabama. His death, 8 days later, inspires the Selma to Montgomery marches.

In 1970, the “Chicago Seven” defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed).

In 1970, US President Richard Nixon launched the "Nixon Doctrine".

In 1972, the California Supreme Court abolished the death penalty

In 1983, 13 people were shot to death at a gambling club in Seattle’s Chinatown in what became known as the Wah Mee Massacre. (Two men were convicted of the killings and were sentenced to life in prison; a third was found guilty of robbery and assault.)

In 1988, Anthony Kennedy was sworn in as the 106th US Supreme Court Justice.

In 1994, in the final race of his Olympic career at the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, U.S. speedskater Dan Jansen broke the world record in the 1,000 meters, winning the gold medal.

In 1998, two white separatists were arrested in Nevada and accused of plotting a biological attack on NYC subways.

In 2001, FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison, where he dies.

In 2010, the website WikiLeaks began posting classified U.S. government documents provided by army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning; it was believed to be the largest unauthorized release of state secrets in U.S. history.

In 2011, in a Kent, Washington, courtroom, Gary Leon Ridgway pleaded guilty to the 1982 aggravated, first-degree murder of his 49th victim, 20-year-old Rebecca Marrero.

In 2019, 16 US states, including California and New York, banded together to sue President Donald Trump over his use of emergency powers to build a border wall.

In 2020, President Donald Trump commuted the 14-year sentence of former Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich's corruption conviction