P/N

1867
The United States took possession of Alaska from Russia.

1892
The first long distance telephone line between Chicago and New York was opened.

1898
The American flag was raised in Puerto Rico shortly before Spain formally relinquished control of the island to the United States.

1931
Inventor Thomas Alva Edison died at age 84 in West Orange, N.J.

1944
Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia during World War II.

1962
Dr. James D. Watson of the United States, and Dr. Francis Crick and Dr. Maurice Wilkins of Britain, were named winners of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for their work in determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.

1968
The United States Olympic Committee suspended two black athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, for giving a "black power" salute as a protest during a victory ceremony in Mexico City.

1989
Erich Honecker was ousted as leader of East Germany after 18 years in power.

2001
Four defendants were convicted in New York for the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.

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"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." - Ronald Reagan