Georgia ratified the U.S. Constitution, becoming the fourth U.S. state
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Alice Sanger became the first female staffer for the White House β
Elara, a Moon of Jupiter, discovered β
Willis H. Carrier patented an air conditioner β
Japanese invaded and occupied Manila and the Philipines after a successful attack on Pearl Harbor β
USSRβs Luna I was launched, becoming the first spacecraft to leave Earth’s gravity. Later, it became the first to reach the Moon’s vicinity and the first to orbit the Sun. β
Fidel Castro and his followers captured Santiago, Cuba; Fulgencio Batista went into exile β
The U.S. Federal Trade Commision charged seven record companies and eight distribution firms with paying disc-jockeys to play certain songs (Payola Incident) β
General Lyman L. Lemnitzer became the supreme commander of NATO β
The NY Jets signed quarterback Joe Namath for $427,000. At the time he was the highest paid player in pro football β
Robert Clark was seated as the first African American legislator in Mississippi in 74 years β
Kenneth Brugger and Cathy Aguado discovered first winter refuge of monarch butterflies, in Mexico β
President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed the final version of the U.S.-Canadian trade accord. The pact provided for the elimination of tariffs on most goods within 10 years and created a series of binational groups to regulate the agreement β
Explosion in a West Virginia coal mine that led to the death of 12 of 13 miners—Sago Mine disaster β
On this date a numerically rare event occurred: 01-02-2010 expressed backwards as a date is precisely 01-02-2010 β
28-lb. 13-oz. tautog caught, Ocean City, Md.
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Weather
Fourteen degrees F on Haleakala summit, Hawaii β
Little Rock, Arkansas, received 13 inches of snow in 24 hours β
A severe snowstorm began in New England. The Blue Hill observatory in Milton, Massachusetts, had 19 inches of snow in 24 hours. β
Hawaii experienced one of its lowest temperatures on record, 14 degrees F, on Haleakala summit β