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On this day:

In 1842, the sewing machine was patented by John Greenough of Washington, DC.

In 1878, the first telephone directories were distributed to residents in New Haven, Connecticut.

In 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated.

In 1916, the World War One Battle of Verdun began in France.

In 1925, the first issue of "New Yorker" magazine was published.

in 1931, Alka Seltzer was first introduced to consumers.

In 1947, Edwin Land demonstrated his new camera which could take and develop a picture in about a minute. It became known as the Polaroid Land Camera.

In 1965, civil rights leader Malcolm X was shot to death while addressing a crowd at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. He was 39.

In 1972, President Nixon began his historic visit to China.

In 1979, two Iowa girls high school basketball teams played four scoreless quarters and three scoreless overtime periods before the game was eventually won four-to-two in the fourth overtime.

In 1980, U.S. speedskater Eric Heiden became the first Olympic athlete to win five individual gold medals.

In 1981, country singer Dolly Parton hit the top of the pop charts with "Nine to Five."

In 1982, legendary disc jockey Murray K died of cancer in Los Angeles.

In 1988, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart confessed to his congregation that he had an affair with a prostitute at a seedy motel.

In 1990, Milli Vanilli won a Grammy award for Best New Artist. The duo was later forced to return the award after it was revealed that they did not actually sing on the album.

In 1992, Kristi Yamaguchi of the U.S. captured the women's figure skating gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.

In 1997, "The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition" was re-released in theaters.

In 1997, The Spice Girls topped the "Billboard" pop singles chart with "Wannabe." They earned the honor of becoming the first British act since The Beatles in 1964 to hit the number one spot with a debut single.

In 2000, consumer advocate Ralph Nader entered the presidential race on the Green Party ticket.

In 2000, David Letterman returned to the late night airwaves for the first time since undergoing quintuple bypass surgery five weeks earlier.

In 2003, a deadly oil refinery explosion on Staten Island, New York shook homes and sent smoke and flames shooting hundreds of miles into the air. The explosion took place at the Exxon Mobil storage complex. At least two people were killed.

In 2003, the National Academy Of Recording Arts and Sciences honored U2 singer Bono with the Musicares Person Of The Year Award. Bono was recognized for his humanitarian work.

In 2004, in one of his first major challenges since being elected Governor of California, Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the state's attorney general to immediately stop the issuance of marriage licenses to San Francisco gay couples, calling the action an "imminent risk to civil disorder."

As found on 1170AM KBCQ San Diego
http://www.kcbq.com/todayinhistory.asp