1947

America’s first commercially licensed television station west of the Mississippi, KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, made its official debut.

1973

The U.S. Supreme Court, in its Roe v. Wade decision, declared a nationwide constitutional right to abortion. (The court would overrule Roe v. Wade in 2022.)

1998

Theodore Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Sacramento, California, to being the Unabomber responsible for three deaths and 23 injuries in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

2008

Actor Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead of an accidental prescription overdose in a New York City apartment.