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1778
Oliver Pollack created the dollar sign: $.
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1789
Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania was elected the first Speaker of the House of Representatives.
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1933
The Nazi persecution of Jews began in Germany with a boycott of Jewish businesses.
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1945
American forces landed on Okinawa during World War II.
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1960
Tiros I, the world's first meteorological satellite, was launched.
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1963
The daytime soap opera General Hospital first aired on ABC-TV.
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1970
President Nixon signed a bill into law banning cigarette ads from radio and television.
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1979
Ayatollah Khomeini proclaimed Iran to be an Islamic Republic.
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2001
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic arrested on corruption charges.
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2003
Pvt. Jessica Lynch was rescued by U.S. commandos in a raid on an Iraqi hospital.
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2004
President Bush signed the "Laci Peterson" bill making it a separate federal crime to harm a fetus during an attack on the mother.
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2009
Sweden becomes the fifth European country to legalize same-sex marriage. The other countries with the same rights are The Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and Spain.