In 1759, George Washington married widow Martha Dandridge Custis.

In 1838, in Morristown, N.J., Samuel F.B. Morse and his partner, Alfred Vail, publicly demonstrated their new invention, the telegraph, for the first time.

In 1912, New Mexico joined the United States as the 47th state.

In 1919, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, died at the age of 60.

In 1925, Paavo Nurmi, known as the Flying Finn and regarded as the greatest runner of his day, set world records in the mile run and 5,000-meter run within the space of 1 hour in his first U.S. appearance, an indoor meet at New York City's new Madison Square Garden.

In 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined the Four Freedoms in the State of the Union address.

In 1942, a Pan American Airways plane arrived in New York, completing the first around-the-world flight by a commercial airliner.

In 1950, Britain formally recognized the communist government of China.

In 1984, the first test-tube quadruplets, all boys, were born in Melbourne, Australia.

In 1993, dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev died at age 54 of cardiac complications. His doctor later confirmed Nureyev had AIDS.

...continued

Copyright 2013 by United Press International