On this date...

Major General Benjamin Lincoln

In 1780, Major General Benjamin Lincoln of the Continental Army was forced to surrender with 7,000 troops at Charleston, South Carolina. This was the worst defeat of the revolution for the Americans.

In 1846, The Donner party left Independence, Missouri, for California.

In 1896, New York City passes the nation's first anti-spitting law to combat tuberculosis, imposing fines and jail time.

in 1903, Teddy Roosevelt's trip to San Francisco was captured on film, making him one of the first Presidents to be filmed while performing an official activity.

In 1926, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, American scientist Lincoln Ellsworth, and Italian engineer Umberto Nobile made the first undisputed flight over the North Pole.

In 1932, the kidnapped Lindbergh baby was found decease near the family home.

In 1943, Axis forces surrendered in North Africa.

In 1961, then Vice President Johnson visits South Vietnam.

In 1970, The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.

In 2002, Former President Jimmy Carter became the first present or former U.S. president to visit Cuba since Fidel Castro seized power in 1959.

In 2003, Fifty-nine Texas House Democrats fled to Oklahoma to prevent passage of a congressional redistricting bill.