In 1909, McKinley and Washington schools of Berkeley, California became the country's first authorized junior high schools. They served grades seven, eight and nine.
In 1913, the first crossword puzzle was published in the "New York World."
In 1918, College Football and Hockey Hall-of-Famer Hobey Baker died at the age of 26. The collegiate hockey most valuable player award is named in his honor.
In 1933, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers starred in the film "Flying Down to Rio." It was their first film together.
In 1937, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" debuted in Hollywood, California. It was the first full-length animated feature from Walt Disney. It cost one-and-a-half million dollars to produce.
In 1940, author F. Scott Fitzgerald died at the age of 44. He is best remembered for his book "The Great Gatsby."
In 1945, General George S. Patton died in Germany at the age of 60. He was dubbed "Old Blood and Guts" during his legendary military career.
In 1946, the Christmas classic "It's A Wonderful Life" premiered in New York City.
In 1951, New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio announced his retirement.
In 1966, the Beach Boys received a gold record for "Good Vibrations."
In 1967, "The Graduate" starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft opened in theaters across the U.S..
In 1968, Apollo Eight was launched. The crew aboard carried out the first manned flight around the moon.
In 1970, Elvis Presley drove himself to the White House to volunteer his services to President Richard Nixon in the nation's fight against drugs. Presley presented the President with a chrome-plated Colt 45. Nixon gave Elvis a Narcotics Bureau badge.
In 1972, East and West Germany signed a treaty committing each side to good neighbor relations.
In 1978, John Wayne Gacy, Jr., was arrested in Des Plaines, Illinois. He was eventually convicted of murdering 33 men and boys.
In 1986, Bruce Springsteen's album "Born in the USA" became the second longest-lasting album in the top ten on the charts. It stayed there for 79 weeks.
In 1988, Pan-Am Flight 103 exploded in the air over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. The explosion was caused by a terrorist bomb.
In 1991, media mogul Ted Turner married actress Jane Fonda.
In 1997, Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders became only the third person in NFL history to rush for more than two-thousand yards in a season.
In 2003, "Time" magazine named "The American Soldier" its Person Of The Year.
In 2004, at least 15 American soldiers were killed in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in what was declared one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. military personnel since the star of the war in Iraq in 2003. The attackers struck a dining hall as many soldiers were sitting down for lunch.