1885

The Washington Monument was dedicated.

1964

The first shipment of U.S. wheat purchased by the Soviet Union arrived in the port of Odessa.

1965

Minister and civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death inside Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom in New York.

1972

President Richard M. Nixon began his historic visit to China as he and his wife, Pat, arrived in Beijing.

1995

Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean by balloon, landing in Saskatchewan.