On this date in history:

In 1797, Nathaniel Briggs was awarded a patent for the washing machine.

In 1881, P.T. Barnum and James A. Bailey merged their circuses to form The Greatest Show on Earth.

In 1939, Madrid surrendered to the nationalist forces of Generalissimo Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War.

In 1968, the counterculture musical Hair opened on Broadway.

In 1969, Dwight D. Eisenhower, World War II hero and 34th president of the United States, died in Washington at age 78.

In 1979, a failure in the cooling system at the nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania caused a near meltdown. It was the worst accident at a U.S. civilian nuclear facility.

In 1991, just days before the 10th anniversary of an attempt on his life, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan endorsed a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases, reversing his earlier opposition.

In 1993, Russian President Boris Yeltsin survived an impeachment vote by the Congress of People's Deputies.

In 1996, the U.S. Congress approved the presidential line-item veto.

In 2005, an 8.6-magnitude earthquake jolted the western coast of Sumatra, killing at least 1,300 people and destroying hundreds of buildings.

In 2006, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, with ties to several members of Congress, was sentenced to six years in prison after a conviction on fraud charges. (He was released from prison in 2010.)

In 2009, the space shuttle Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a 13-day mission to the International Space Station during which the ISS was brought up to full power with the installation of its fourth set of solar wings.

In 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama visited Afghanistan for the first time since taking office, an unannounced trip to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and address American troops.

In 2011, at least 110 people were killed in an explosion at a southern Yemen weapons factory.

In 2013, teachers in the United States topped all other groups except physicians in how they rate their lives overall, a Gallup poll indicated. Among other things, Gallup's Well-being Index said teachers are the most likely to say they smiled or laughed a lot, experienced happiness or enjoyment and learned or do something new each day.

In 2014, seven-term Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, announced he would not seek-relection at the end of the year.

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