1790 John Tyler, the 10th president of the United States, was born in Charles City County, Va.

1847 U.S. forces led by Gen. Winfield Scott occupied the city of Veracruz after its Mexican defenders capitulated.

1867 The British Parliament passed the North America Act to create the Dominion of Canada.

1867 Baseball Hall of Famer Cy Young was born in Gilmore, Ohio.

1882 The Knights of Columbus was chartered in Connecticut.

1943 Rationing of meat, butter and cheese began during World War II.

1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union.

1962 Jack Paar hosted NBC’s “Tonight Show” for the final time.

1971 Army Lt. William L. Calley Jr. was convicted of murdering at least 22 Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre. (He spent three years under house arrest.)

1971 A jury in Los Angeles recommended the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers for the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. The sentences were later commuted.

1974 Eight Ohio National Guardsmen were indicted on charges stemming from the shooting deaths of four students at Kent State University. The guardsmen were later acquitted.

1992 Democratic presidential front-runner Bill Clinton acknowledged experimenting with marijuana ”a time or two” while attending Oxford University, adding, ”I didn’t inhale and I didn’t try it again.”

1999 The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 10,000 for the first time, at 10,006.78.

2002 Israel declared Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat an enemy and sent tanks and armored personnel carriers to fully isolate him in his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

2005 Attorney Johnnie Cochran died at age 67.

2006 Hamas formally took over the Palestinian government, with Ismail Haniyeh sworn in as the new prime minister.

Source: NY Times