1540 – King Henry the Eighth marries his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. She was not beheaded upon the end of their marriage, but rather given the name “The King’s Sister,” and lived as a single woman for the rest of her life.

1663 – The Great New England Earthquake occurs. Geologists estimate it to have been almost an eight-pointer on the Richter Scale. The massive quake rang church bells in Boston, but the clergy saw a silver lining, as thousands flocked to the church in the aftermath.

1681 – The first recorded boxing match happens. The Duke of Albemarle (one-time Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica) arranged the world’s first recorded boxing match between his butler and his butcher. The butcher won.

1759 – George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis.

1838 – Samuel Morse makes the first public demonstration of the telegraph.

1912 – New Mexico becomes the nations forty-seventh state.

1930 – The first diesel-engine automobile trip in a Packard sedan was completed.

1941 – Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his “Four Freedoms” speech, outlining freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

1942 – The first around-the-world plane trip is completed in Pan Am’s “Pacific Clipper.”

1945 – George Bush marries Barbara Pierce in Rye, New York.

1957 – Elvis Presley makes his seventh and final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1958 – Gibson patents the Flying V guitar.

1968 – The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour album shoots to number one on the charts and remains there for eight weeks.

1975 – Wheel of Fortune debuts on television.

1994 – Ice-skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked by Tonya Harding’s bodyguards as she left practice.

2012 – Jamaica announces that it will become a republic, separate from, and removing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.

2014 – A “Polar Vortex” moved over the United States’ midsection, causing devastatingly cold temperatures and canceling almost 3,000 flights.