1775

Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Massachusetts, warning colonists that British Regular troops were approaching.

1906

The deadliest earthquake in U.S. history struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires across the city. More than 3,000 people are believed to have been killed.

1978

The Senate approved the Panama Canal Treaty, providing for the complete turnover of control of the waterway to Panama on the last day of 1999.

2016

“Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop stage biography won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.