On this day in 1801, the town of Cheshire, Massachusetts, made a 1,235-pound cheese wheel as a gift for President Thomas Jefferson.
On this day in 1979, during a tropical storm, two enormous supertankers collided off the coast of Tobago.
On this day in 1936, Oscar Mayer’s original Wienermobile made its debut in the company’s hometown of Chicago.
On this day in 1976, three men kidnapped a school bus driver and 26 children in Chowchilla, California.
On this day in 1946, Dr. Benjamin Spock’s seminal book about child care was published for the first time.
On this day in 1865, P. T. Barnum’s American Museum in New York City was destroyed in a mysterious fire.
On this day in 1979, a promotional event at a Major League Baseball game devolved into a dangerous riot.
On this day in 1985, Dr. Harry Harlan Stone announced the successful use of zippers to open and close surgical incisions.
On this day in 1994, Communist dictator and founder of North Korea Kim Il-Sung died of a heart attack.
On this day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated court of appeals judge Sandra Day O’Connor to be the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.