1775: Patrick Henry delivered an address to the Virginia Provincial Convention, proclaiming, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
1806: Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, having reached the Pacific coast, began their journey back east.
1933: The German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act, which effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers.
1983: President Ronald Reagan first proposed developing technology to intercept incoming enemy missiles — an idea that came to be known as the Strategic Defense Initiative.
2010: President Barack Obama signed a $938 billion health care overhaul.