1848
There's gold in them thar hills!
President Polk triggered the Gold Rush of 1848 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California.
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1776
The first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
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1791
Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna, Austria, at age 35.
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1872
Having left New York on Nov. 5, the brigantine Mary Celeste was found adrift off Portugal with everyone aboard mysteriously missing.
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1933
The 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing prohibition, was ratified.
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1955
The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO.
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2002
At Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday celebration, Senate Republican leader Trent Lott praised Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential bid. Lott subsequently resigned his leadership position.
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2004
Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president.
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2009
An Italian jury convicts Amanda Knox, an American student, of murdering her former roommate, English student Meredith Kercher, in 2007.
