Events
- 1673 - John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton sells his part of New Jersey to some Friends (Quakers).
- 1766 - American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, which was very unpopular in the British colonies.
- 1850 - American Express is founded by Henry Wells & William Fargo.
- 1865 - American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourns for the last time.
- 1874 - Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights.
- 1922 - The first public celebration of Bat mitzvah, for the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, is held in New York City.
- 1925 - The Tri-State Tornado hits the Midwestern states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people.
- 1945 - World War II: 1,250 American bombers attack Berlin.
- 1959 - American President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law allowing for Hawaiian statehood, which would become official on August 21.
- 1968 - Gold standard: The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency.
- 1974 - Oil embargo crisis: Most OPEC nations end a five-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.
- 1990 - In largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth around $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 2003 - US enters the Iraq War. About $1 billion was taken from Iraq's Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family, just hours before the United States began bombing Iraq, biggest bank robbery in history. [1]
- 2003 - FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company's top executives.
- 2005 - The first-ever Muslim Friday prayer led by a woman in a mixed-gender congregation is held in New York City, marking a break with a 1426-year Islamic tradition.
- 2005 - Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed at the request of her husband, fueling a worldwide debate on euthanasia.