Today in History

1733

James Oglethorpe and some 120 English colonists arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, while en route to settle in present-day Georgia.

1941

A new law went into effect granting Puerto Ricans U.S. birthright citizenship.

1982

An Air Florida 737 crashed into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and fell into the Potomac River while trying to take off during a snowstorm, killing a total of 78 people, including four motorists on the bridge; four passengers and a flight attendant survived.

1990

L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation’s first elected Black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond.

1992

Japan apologized for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women to serve as sex slaves for its soldiers during World War II, citing newly uncovered documents that showed the Japanese army had a role in abducting the so-called “comfort women.”

Birthdays

Golf Hall of Famer Mark O’Meara is 68. Actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus is 64. Country singer Trace Adkins is 63. Actor Patrick Dempsey is 59. TV producer-writer Shonda Rhimes is 55. Actor Orlando Bloom is 48. Actor Liam Hemsworth is 35. Actor Natalia Dyer is 30. NHL center Connor McDavid is 28.