| On this date in: |
| 1861 | North Carolina voted to secede from the Union. |
| 1861 | The capital of the Confederacy was moved from Montgomery, Ala., to Richmond, Va. |
| 1902 | The United States ended a three-year military presence in Cuba as the Republic of Cuba was established. |
| 1927 | Charles Lindbergh took off for Paris from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, N.Y., aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. |
| 1932 | Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland for Ireland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. |
| 1939 | Regular trans-Atlantic air service began as a Pan American Airways plane took off from Port Washington, N.Y., bound for Europe. |
| 1969 | U.S. and South Vietnamese forces captured Apbia Mountain, referred to as Hamburger Hill by the Americans, following one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War. |
| 1971 | The album "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye was released. |
| 1989 | Comedian Gilda Radner died of cancer at age 42. |
| 1993 | The final first-run episode of "Cheers" aired on NBC. |
| 1995 | President Bill Clinton announced that the two-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House would be permanently closed to traffic as a security measure. |
| 1996 | The Supreme Court struck down a Colorado measure banning laws that protect homosexuals from discrimination. |
| 2002 | East Timor became an independent nation. |
| 2006 | San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds tied Babe Ruth for second place on the career list with his 714th home run. |
| 2009 | Suspended NFL star Michael Vick was released after 19 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring. |
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