On this date in

1746 The College of New Jersey (later renamed Princeton University) received its charter.

1797 Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first recorded parachute jump.

1836 Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first president of Texas.

1883 The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City opened.

1910 Dr. Crippen was convicted of poisoning his wife.

1934 FBI agents killed Pretty Boy Floyd.

1962 President John F. Kennedy announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba, following the discovery of Soviet missile bases on the island.

1964 Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, but turned it down.

1966 "The Supremes A' Go-Go" became the first album by an all-female group to reach No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Top 200 charts.

1968 Apollo 7 splashed down after orbiting the Earth 163 times.

1981 The Federal Labor Relations Authority decertified the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization because of its strike the previous August.

Born on this date:
Daniel Boone (1734-1820)
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Collis Potter Huntington (1821-1900)
Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923)
John Reed (1887-1920)
Curly Howard (1903-1952)
George Wells Beadle (1903-1989)
Constance Bennett (1904-1965)
Jimmie Foxx (1907-1967)
Timothy Leary (1920-1996)