In 1612, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei observed the planet Neptune, but mistook it for a star. (Neptune wasn't officially discovered until 1846 by Johann Gottfried Galle.)
1832: John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the United States to resign, stepping down because of differences with President Andrew Jackson.
1846: Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted to the Union.
1856: The 28th president of the United States, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, was born in Staunton, Virginia.
1917: The New York Evening Mail published “A Neglected Anniversary,” a facetious essay by H.L. Mencken supposedly recounting the history of bathtubs in America.
1937: Composer Maurice Ravel died in Paris at age 62.
1945: Fritz Lang's film noir, “Scarlet Street,” starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett, was released by Universal Pictures.
1945: Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.
1961: The Tennessee Williams play “Night of the Iguana” opened on Broadway.