1847 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government.
1865 – New York Stock Exchange opens its 1st permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad St, near Wall Street in New York City.
1948 – The Southeast Asian nation of Burma (Myanmar) formally gained independence, completing the transfer of power negotiated by Burmese leader Aung San and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee in 1947.
1959 – Luna 1 (Mechta) becomes 1st craft to leave Earth’s gravity.
1961 – Longest recorded strike ends as the Danish barbers’ assistants end a 33 year strike.
1965 – In his State of the Union message, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed his vision of a “Great Society” and called for an enormous program of social welfare legislation.
2007 – The 110th United States Congress convenes and elects Nancy Pelosi as the 1st female Speaker of the House.
2010 – Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, officially opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Births & Deaths:1643 – English physicist and mathematician, Isaac Newton, famous for his laws of physics, was born.
1809 – French educator Louis Braille, who developed a system of printing and writing that is extensively used by the blind and that was named for him, was born near Paris.
1935 – American professional boxer Floyd Patterson was born in Waco, North Carolina.
Sport: 1920 – 1st Black baseball league, National Negro Baseball League, organizes.
Music: 1936 – Billboard magazine publishes its 1st music hit parade.
TV & Film: 1984 – “Night Court” starring Harry Anderson premieres on NBC TV.
Via Britannica / On This Day
