1999—The “Hockey Stick” graph shows that global warming’s real; corporate demand for expert liars soars.
1989—To flatter veterans without incurring any actual additional expenses, the Veterans Administration is elevated to Departmental status.
1982—Donald Trump gets a New Jersey casino licence—normally a months-long process—in hours.
1980—A Boston Globe editorial about a speech by Jimmy Carter is headlined, “Mush from the Wimp.”
1969—The National Security Council OKs the Nixon/Kissinger plan to illegally bomb Cambodia.
1962—Flying Tiger Flight 739 from Travis AFB to Saigon disappears with 107 soldiers and crew on board.
1948—“Without superior air power America is…easy prey to any yellow dwarf with a pocket knife,” says LBJ on the floor of the House.
1940—The Grapes of Wrath premiers.
1910—Oil driller Charlie “Dry Hole” Woods hits a wet one in Kern County, Calif. The Lakeview Gusher spews 9 million barrels in 18 months; the largest single spill in history.
1889—An imperial standoff between the U.S. and Germany ends when a cyclone wrecks or beaches all their ships in an exposed Samoan harbor.
1874—A French “protectorate” takes over in Annam (Vietnam).
1760—New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth, 64, marries his housekeeper, Martha Hilton, 23.