On this date...

Wendell Phillips

In 1629, the first game law was passed in the American colonies by Virginia.

In 1664, a charter to colonize Rhode Island was granted to Roger Williams.

In 1688, Governor Edmund Andros issued an order placing the militia of the New England colonies under his own direct control.

In 1765, Britain enacted the Quartering Act, requiring American colonists to provide temporary housing to 10,000 British soldiers in public and private buildings.

In 1776, in his orders, Washington warns that the British fleet’s lingering “leaves abundant reason” to suspect a sudden blow to Boston, so regimental commanders are to keep troops ready to respond instantly. Patrol boats and lookouts watch every movement. 

In 1776, in a letter to Josiah Quincy, the Massachusetts patriot leader, Washington shares his concerns about espionage—enemy soldiers and even officers “in disguise.” He urges sentries to question strangers and choke off shore-to-ship intelligence.

In 1776, one week after the British troops under General William Howe evacuated Boston, General George Washington wrote a letter to the Continental Congress. General Washington expressed his “surprize and disappointment” that the British fleet had not departed the harbor and described its various exploits while still in the region.

In 1825, the State Colonization Law was passed in Mexico, encouraging immigration to Coahuila and Texas for farming, ranching, and commerce. Newcomers were required to pledge to worship according to Catholic practices and adhere to Mexican law.

In 1832, Mormon leader Joseph Smith was beaten, tarred, and feathered in Hiram, Ohio.

In 1862, abolitionist orator Wendell Phillips was booed while attempting to give a lecture in Cincinnati, Ohio. The angry crowd was opposed to fighting for the freedom of enslaved people, as Phillips advocated. He was pelted with rocks and eggs before friends whisked him away when a small riot broke out.

In 1865, President Lincoln visited General Grant at City Point, Virginia, arriving at this all-important water-supported supply base at 9 p.m. on board the steamer River Queen.

In 1883, long-distance telephone service was inaugurated between Chicago and New York.

In 1903, George Dewey was commissioned Admiral of the Navy with the date of rank, 2 March 1899. He was the only person to hold this rank.

In 1913, the home of vaudeville, the Palace Theatre, opened in New York City.

In 1943, G.I. Joe, one of the most decorated homing pigeons in military history, was hatched. During WWII, he flew 20 miles in 20 minutes in the nick of time to save a battalion from being bombed—credited with saving some 1,000 British troops.

In 1944, More than 75 Allied prisoners undertook a daring escape from a POW camp in Sagan, Germany, though most were eventually recaptured; it inspired the classic World War II movie The Great Escape (1963), starring Steve McQueen.

In 1945, with the debut of the Billboard magazine pop album chart, American pianist and singer Nat King Cole's King Cole Trio became the first record album to appear at No. 1.

In 1945, Operation Varsity: In the largest one-day airborne operation of all time, British, US & Canadian paratroopers landed east of the Rhine in Northern Germany

In 1958, Elvis Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army, starting his day as the King of Rock and Roll, but ending it as a lowly buck private in the United States Army.

In 1965, the first “teach-in” was conducted at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; two hundred faculty members participated by holding special anti-war seminars. Regular classes were canceled, and rallies and speeches dominated for 12 hours.

In 1987, the AIS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) held its first-ever demonstration on Wall Street—the world's financial center—targeting pharmaceutical companies that were profiting off the AIDS pandemic.

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground, eventually spilling 11 million gallons of oil.

In 1998, Mitchell Johnson, 13, and Andrew Golden, 11, shot their classmates and teachers in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

In 2001, Apple Computer Inc.'s operating system Mac OS X went on sale.

In 2017, US President Donald Trump and the Republican Party were forced to pull their attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act ('Obamacare') after internal opposition