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Arland D. Williams Jr.

Arland D. Williams Jr.

Arland D. Williams Jr. (1935–1982) was a passenger aboard Air Florida Flight 90 which crashed on take-off in Washington, D.C. on January 13, 1982, killing 78 people. He was among the six persons to initially survive the crash. His actions after the crash, handing the initial rescue efforts as a first responder, became a well-known example of extraordinary heroism, although it cost him his life. He did not know any of the other victims personally. In fact, his identity was not even known until some time after the bodies were recovered. In the words of a clergyman, :His heroism was not rash. Aware that his own strength was fading, he deliberately handed hope to someone else, and he did so repeatedly. On that cold and tragic day, Arland D. Williams Jr. exemplified one of the best attributes of human nature, specifically that some people are capable of doing "anything" for total strangers.

Passing the lifeline

News cameramen watched helplessly from the bridge, recording the disaster for the rest of the world to see. Hope arrived at approximately 4:20 PM EST when Eagle 1, a United States Park Police helicopter based at Anacostia Park in Washington DC and manned by pilot Donald W. Usher and paramedic Melvin E. (Gene) Windsor, arrived and assisted with the rescue operation at great risk to themselves. At one point in the operation the helicopter was so close to the ice-clogged river that the skids went beneath the surface of the water. According to the other five survivors, one passenger was pinned to the fuselage of the plane, but continued to help the others reach the rescue ropes being dropped by the hovering helicopter, repeatedly passing the line to others instead of using it himself. After lifting and towing two badly injured passengers to shore one at a time, an attempt was made to use two lines to haul three more, but as the tow to shore was underway, the two fell back into the icy water. As fatigue set in, one of the survivors was too weak to grab the line again, so another bystander, a government office assistant Lenny Skutnik, stripped off his coat and boots, and in short sleeves, dove into the icy water, and swam out to assist her. The helicopter then proceeded to where the other had fallen, and paramedic Gene Windsor dropped from the safety of the helicopter into the water to attach a line to her. While the other five were being taken to shore by the helicopter, the tail section of the wrecked Boeing 737 shifted and sank further into the water, dragging the last survivor under the water with it. The next day, The Washington Post described his heroism: :He was about 50 years old, one of half a dozen survivors clinging to twisted wreckage bobbing in the icy Potomac when the first helicopter arrived. To the copter's two-man Park Police crew he seemed the most alert. Life vests were dropped, then a flotation ball. The man passed them to the others. On two occasions, the crew recalled last night, he handed away a life line from the hovering machine that could have dragged him to safety. The helicopter crew - who rescued five people, the only persons who survived from the jetliner - lifted a woman to the riverbank, then dragged three more persons across the ice to safety. Then the life line saved a woman who was trying to swim away from the sinking wreckage, and the helicopter pilot, Donald W. Usher, returned to the scene, but the man was gone. ("A Hero - Passenger Aids Others, Then Dies", January 14, 1982)

Identifying the mystery hero

The passenger who had survived the crash and had repeatedly given up the rescue lines to other survivors before drowning was later identified as a forty-six-year-old bank examiner from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Arland D. Williams Jr. The coroner determined that he was the only passenger in the wreckage whose body revealed that he had died from drowning rather than impact injuries suffered in the crash.

Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge

The Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge is located on the Potomac River between Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC. Interstate 395 and U.S. Highway 1 cross on the 3 spans of the 14th Street Bridge Complex. The easternmost span was originally named the Rochambeau Bridge when it was built in 1950. In 1983, following a 1982 airplane crash which struck it, the Rochambeau Bridge was renamed to honor Arland D. Williams Jr., who was a heroic victim of the disaster.

Air Florida Flight 90

Main article: Air Florida Flight 90 On January 13, 1982, during an extraordinary period of freezing weather, Air Florida Flight 90 took off from nearby Washington National Airport, failed to gain altitude, and crashed into the bridge, where it hit six cars and a truck on the bridge, killing four motorists. The plane then fell into the freezing Potomac River. Only six of the airliner's 79 occupants were able to escape the sinking plane. One of these, later identified as 50-year-old Arland D. Williams Jr., repeatedly gave up a rescue line to help save others. The next day, The Washington Post described his heroism: :"He was about 50 years old, one of half a dozen survivors clinging to twisted wreckage bobbing in the icy Potomac when the first helicopter arrived. To the copter's two-man Park Police crew he seemed the most alert. Life vests were dropped, then a flotation ball. The man passed them to the others. On two occasions, the crew recalled last night, he handed away a life line from the hovering machine that could have dragged him to safety. The helicopter crew - who rescued five people, the only persons who survived from the jetliner - lifted a woman to the riverbank, then dragged three more persons across the ice to safety. Then the life line saved a woman who was trying to swim away from the sinking wreckage, and the helicopter pilot, Donald W. Usher, returned to the scene, but the man was gone," :source: "A Hero - Passenger Aids Others, Then Dies", The Washington Post, January 14, 1982.

Honors, memoriam

The four other heroes of the Air Florida rescue who also risked their lives but survived were honored shortly after the disaster. It took some time to investigate and any establish without any doubt the identity and extraordinarily heroic and selfless behavior of Arland D. Williams Jr. His actions caused him to stand out even among the other four outstanding heroes of that tragic day. On June 6, 1983, Arland D. Williams Jr. was posthumously awarded the United States Coast Guard's Gold Lifesaving Medal in a White House Oval Office presentation to his family by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth H. Dole. Mrs. Virginia Williams, mother of Arland D. Williams Jr., accepted the medal on her son's behalf. Other participants in the ceremony included the recipient's father, Arland, his children, Arland the Third and Leslie Ann, and his sister, Jean Fullmer. Also present were Vice Admiral Benedict L. Stabile and Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, Commander D. C. Addison, United State Senator Charles H. Percy and Representative Daniel B. Crane of Illinois. As a lasting tribute to Arland D. Williams Jr., the repaired 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River at the crash site, which had been officially named the "Rochambeau Bridge", was renamed the "Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge" in his honor by the city government of the District of Columbia. Thousands of motorists on busy Interstate 395 cross it every day. In 2000, The Citadel — a military college in South Carolina and Williams' alma mater — created the Arland D. Williams Society to recognize graduates who distinguished themselves through community service. The Citadel also established the Arland D. Williams Endowed Professorship of Heroism in his honor. In August 2003, the new Arland D. Williams Jr. Elementary School in his hometown of Mattoon, Illinois was dedicated to the memory of Williams. See main article Air Florida Flight 90 for more information about the crash and rescue. Williams, Arland D. Williams, Arland D. Williams, Arland D.

Air Florida Flight 90

on January 13, 1982, killing 78 persons.]] Air Florida Flight 90 was an Air Florida flight of a Boeing 737-222 airliner which crashed into the Potomac River near Washington, DC on January 13, 1982 immediately after take-off en route to Florida.

Summary

There were 74 passengers, including 3 infants, and 5 crew members on board. All but 6 of the occupants of the plane died. The aircraft struck the bridge which carries Interstate Highway 395 between Washington DC and Arlington, Virginia. It crushed 7 occupied vehicles on the 14th Street Bridge, killing 4 people, and took out 20 feet of guard rail, before it plunged through the ice into the Potomac River. A total of 78 persons died in the worst accident in Washington DC history. The crash occurred less than two miles from the White House and within view of both the Jefferson Memorial and The Pentagon.

Record cold weather conditions

During the second week of January 1982, one of the worst periods of exceptionally cold weather in history had stricken the east coast of the United States. Atlanta, Georgia recorded freezing temperatures, and the citrus crop in Florida was considered to be at risk. Around the nation's capital, for several days, freezing temperatures had brought vehicles to a standstill and interfered with daily activities. On January 13, at Washington National Airport (DCA), which is located in Arlington, Virginia, immediately across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., the airport had opened at 12 noon under marginal conditions. The crew of Air Florida Flight 90 had left Miami at 11:00 AM EST, and arrived at about 1:45 PM EST. That afternoon, they were to return south to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with an intermediate stop at Tampa International Airport (TPA), Tampa, Florida. The scheduled departure time was delayed about 1 hour 45 minutes due to a moderate to heavy snowfall, which necessitated the temporary closing of the airport.

Delays, poor decisions, crash

Tampa, Florida The airplane was de-iced, by spraying the wings with an antifreeze-type chemical mixture, but the airplane had trouble leaving the gate when the ground services tow motor couldn't get traction on the ice. After finally leaving the departure gate, the Boeing 737-222 aircraft waited on a taxiway 49 minutes for clearance to use the congested airport's only instrument-rated runway, which requires a treacherous flight path north following the river, and winding between restricted airspace and obstacles such as the Washington Monument and The Pentagon. Then, with snow and ice on the airfoil surfaces of the aircraft, the aircraft attempted to take off on the main (and only open) runway in heavy snow at 3:59 PM EST. The pilot apparently decided not to return to the gate for reapplication of deicing, fearing the flight's departure would be even further delayed, chose to continue takeoff. Even though it was freezing and snowing, the crew did not activate the anti-ice systems. During the departure - and confirmed by the FBI - analysis of the flight voice recorder (black box) tape determined that during departure checklist, the copilot announced, and the pilot confirmed, that the plane's own anti-icing system was turned off. This system uses heat from the engines to prevent sensors from freezing and providing inaccurate readings. As it turned out, this failure to operate the plane's anti-icing system caused exactly what could be expected to happen: the Engine Pressure Ratio (EPR) thrust indicators provided false high readings - when the pilots thought they had throttled up to the correct take-off EPR of 2.04, the actual EPR was only 1.70. The aircraft traveled almost 1/2 mile (800 m) further down the runway than is customary before liftoff was accomplished. Survivors of the crash indicated the trip over the runway was extremely rough, one of whom admitted he feared that they would not get airborne and would "fall off the end of the runway." Although the aircraft did manage to become airborne, it failed to gain altitude and, according to reports, only remained airborne for 30 seconds. At 4:01 PM EST it crashed into the 14th Street Bridge across the Potomac River 0.75 nautical mile (1400 m) from the end of the runway. It hit six cars and a truck on the bridge, and tore away 20 feet of guard rail. It then plunged into the freezing Potomac River. All but the tail section quickly became submerged. As a result of injuries received during the crash, 4 of the 5 crew members and 69 of the 74 passengers perished, leaving only 6 survivors in the freezing water out of the 79 who had been aboard the aircraft. There were also four fatalities among the motorists on the bridge, with four others on the bridge injured. Clinging to the tail section of the broken airliner with 5 passengers in the ice-choked Potomac River, flight attendant Kelly Duncan inflated the only flotation device they could find, and passed it to one of the more-injured passengers, Nikki Felch.

Hampered response, unlikely heroes

The blizzard conditions had happened fairly suddenly on this day, and many Federal Government offices in downtown Washington had just been closed early. Thus, there was a massive backup of traffic on almost all of the city's roads, making it almost impossible for ambulances to reach the crash site. The United States Coast Guard's Capstan (WYTL 65601) a 65-foot harbor tugboat and its crew based nearby whose duties include ice breaking and responding to such a water rescue were some considerable distance away downriver on another search-and-rescue mission. Emergency ground response was greatly hampered by ice covered roads and gridlocked traffic. Ambulances attempting to reach the scene were even driven down the sidewalk in front of the White House. Rescuers who did reach the site stood and watched in horror, as they had no adequate equipment to reach the survivors, and the below-freezing waters and heavy ice made swimming out to them all but impossible. Multiple attempts to try to throw a makeshift lifeline - made out of belts and any other things available that could be tied together - out to the survivors proved ineffectual. One man, Roger Olian, a sheet-metal foreman at St Elizabeth's, a Washington hospital for the mentally ill, was on his way home across the 14th Street bridge in his truck when he heard a man yelling that there was an aircraft in the water. He was the first to jump into the water to attempt to contact the survivors. Other motorists and civilian bystanders made a makeshift rope of battery cables, scarves, and anything else they could find to keep Olian from drowning. He remained in the water for about twenty minutes until a United States Park Service Police helicopter arrived, whereupon he was reeled back to shore by the others, while the helicopter crew focused on the crash survivors clinging to the tail section of the plane.

The only rescue helicopter arrives

News cameramen watched helplessly from the bridge, being only able to record the disaster for the rest of the world to see. Suddenly hope arrived in the form of a park police helicopter, trailing a lifeline reaching to the outstretched arms of the victims in the water below. The pilot apparently had to navigate by following the freeway out to the Potomac River from the small windows on the bottom of the copter as air visibility was zero at the time. Further compounding the problem was that the disaster location - or exactly what was the disaster - was unknown, as flight controllers were only aware that the plane had disappeared from the runway and did not respond to radio calls, but had no idea what had happened or where the plane was. At approximately 4:20 PM EST, Eagle 1, a United States Park Police Bell 206 Jetranger helicopter, N2PP, based at the "Eagles Nest" at Anacostia Park in Washington DC and manned by pilot Donald W. Usher and paramedic Melvin E. (Gene) Windsor arrived and assisted at great risk to themselves, at one time getting so close to the ice-clogged river that the helicopter's skids went beneath the surface of the water. As the helicopter crew lowered a line to the survivors for towing them to shore, one survivor, sometimes referred to as "the sixth passenger" was still attached to part of the plane. He repeatedly passed the line to others, After lifting and towing two badly injured passengers to shore one at a time, when the helicopter returned, an attempt was made to use 2 lines to haul 3 more, and two fell back into the icy water. By then one of these was too weak to grab the line. A watching bystander, a government office assistant Lenny Skutnik, stripped off his coat and boots, and in short sleeves, dove into the icy water, and swam out to assist her. The helicopter then proceeded to where the other passengers had fallen, and paramedic Gene Windsor dropped from the safety of the helicopter into the water to attach a line to her. By the time the helicopter crew could return for the sixth passenger, the last survivor, both he and the airplane's tail section had disappeared beneath the icy surface. His body and those of the other occupants were later recovered. According to the coroner, this man, who had passed the lifeline to others, was the only plane passenger to die by drowning. coroner A half hour after the plane crashed, the Washington Metro suffered its first fatal subway crash, which meant that the busiest airport, busiest highway and busiest subway line were all closed simultaneously, paralyzing the Washington DC area. (See "Unusual Coincidence" below.) Later examination of the crash by the National Transportation Safety Board would determine that three factors contributed to the crash
- The pilot did not return for additional de-icing after sitting on the runway waiting for departure approval for over an hour
- The plane's own anti-icing equipment was turned off, potentially causing certain sensors to freeze and produce incorrect readings
- The plane did not have enough power on takeoff to allow it to be able to maintain altitude Had even one of these factors not been present, it is believed that the plane would not have crashed. Air Florida would later go bankrupt and cease operations.

Responses in the media

News media outlets followed the story with diligence. Notably, the Washington Post newspaper published a story about the unidentified survivor of the impact (the "sixth passenger") who handed the lifeline to others and apparently drowned before he could be rescued himself. :"He was about 50 years old, one of half a dozen survivors clinging to twisted wreckage bobbing in the icy Potomac when the first helicopter arrived. To the copter's two-man Park Police crew he seemed the most alert. Life vests were dropped, then a flotation ball. The man passed them to the others. On two occasions, the crew recalled last night, he handed away a life line from the hovering machine that could have dragged him to safety. The helicopter crew - who rescued five people, the only persons who survived from the jetliner - lifted a woman to the riverbank, then dragged three more persons across the ice to safety. Then the life line saved a woman who was trying to swim away from the sinking wreckage, and the helicopter pilot, Donald W. Usher, returned to the scene, but the man was gone," :source: "A Hero - Passenger Aids Others, Then Dies," Washington Post, January 14, 1982. One day after the crash, shock jock Howard Stern called Air Florida during his radio show on WWDC-FM and asked what the fare was for a one-way ticket from Washington National Airport to the 14th Street Bridge.

NTSB, aircraft, pilots

WWDC-FM The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was pilot error stating that "the flight crew’s failure to use engine anti-ice during ground operation and takeoff, their decision to take off with snow/ice on the airfoil surfaces of the aircraft, and the captain’s failure to reject the takeoff during the early stage when his attention was called to anomalous engine instrument readings. "Contributing to the accident were the prolonged ground delay between de-icing and the receipt of ATC takeoff clearance during which the aircraft was exposed to continual precipitation, the known inherent pitchup characteristics of the B-737 aircraft when the leading edge is contaminated with even small amounts of snow or ice, and the limited experience of the flight crew in jet transport winter operations." The aircraft, N62AF, was first delivered to United Airlines in 1969 as N9050U Boeing serial #19556 and was the 130th aircraft off the 737 line.

Honoring heroism

The "sixth passenger" who had survived the crash and had repeatedly given up the rescue lines to other survivors before drowning himself was later identified as a 46 year old bank examiner, Arland D. Williams Jr. The repaired 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River at the crash site, which had been officially named the "Rochambeau Bridge", was renamed the "Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge" in his honor. The Citadel in South Carolina, from which he graduated in 1957, has several memorials to him. In 2003, the new Arland D. Williams Jr. Elementary School was dedicated in his hometown of Mattoon in Coles County, Illinois. Civilians Roger Olian and Lenny Skutnik received the United States Coast Guard's Gold Lifesaving Medal. Arland D. Williams also received the award posthumously. Skutnik was introduced to the joint session of the U.S. Congress during President Ronald Reagan's State of the Union speech later that month. President Reagan also personally contacted and privately thanked Roger Olian. The two crewmen of the U.S. Park Police helicopter Eagle 1 were awarded the United States Coast Guard's Silver Lifesaving Medal. The U.S. Park Service is part of the United States Department of the Interior. Pilot Donald W. Usher and paramedic Melvin E. Windsor also received the Department of the Interior's Valor Award from Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt in a special ceremony soon afterward. Usher is now Superintendent of the U.S. Park Police Training Academy in Brunswick, Georgia. Roger Olian, Lennie Skutnik, Donald Usher, and Melvin Windsor each received the Carnegie Hero Fund Medal.

Unusual coincidence

Simultaneous to this plane crash, a train derailed on the Washington, D.C., Metrorail system. In attempting to restore the train to the rails, the supervisors backed it up, but they did not notice that another car had also derailed. In attempting to reverse the train, the other rail car slid off the track, slammed into a tunnel support, and killed three people, becoming the worst accident that has ever occurred on the Metrorail system in over 25 years of operation. That accident was compounded by lack of availability of ambulances, which at the time were all trying to reach the 14th Street Bridge disaster.

External links


- [http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/1982/AAR8208.htm NTSB Report AAR-82/08 Air Florida, Inc., Boeing 737-222, N62AF, Collision with 14th Street Bridge near Washington National Airport Washington, DC January 13, 1982]
- [http://www.uscg.mil/hq/reserve/magazine/mag2002/JanMar02/flt90.htm Air Florida Flight 90: Reservists remember]
- [http://www.roadstothefuture.com/AirFlorida_SubwayDis.html Roads to the Future website - 14th Street Bridge, the Air Florida Crash, and Subway Disaster]
- [http://aviation-safety.net/database/1982/820113-0.htm Aviation safety network - accident description]
- [http://www.avweb.com/news/safety/182404-1.html Cockpit voice recording transcript for the crash of Air Florida Flight 90]
- [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19820113-0 Aviation Safety Network - report on Air Florida Flight 90]
- http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/2004/03/19/askthepilot71/)

References


- Trivers, R. L. & Newton, H. P. The crash of flight 90: doomed by self-deception? Science Digest (November 1982): pp 66,67,111.
- History Channel program on Air Florida Flight 90. Air Florida Flight 90 Category:Airliner crashes caused by ice Category:Accidents and incidents on commercial airliners in the United States Air Florida Flight 90

Washington D.C.

Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the United States of America. "D.C." stands for the "District of Columbia", the federal district containing the city of Washington. The city is named for George Washington, military leader of the American Revolution and the first President of the United States. The District of Columbia and the city of Washington are coextensive and are governed by a single municipal government, so for most practical purposes they are considered to be the same entity. It is known locally as the District or simply D.C. Historically, it was called the Federal City. The District of Columbia, founded on July 16, 1790, is a federal district as specified by the United States Constitution with limited—and sometimes contentious—local rule. The District is ruled "in all cases whatsoever" by the U.S. Congress, though its residents have no voting representative in that body. The land forming the original District came from the states of Virginia and Maryland. However, the area south of the Potomac River (39 mi² or about 100 km²) was returned, or "retroceded", to Virginia in 1847 and now is incorporated into Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. The term "District of Columbia" is derived from an old poetic name for the United States, Columbia, which has fallen out of common use since the early 20th century. The centers of all three branches of the U.S. federal government are in Washington, D.C., as well as the headquarters of most federal agencies. Washington also serves as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States, among other international (and national) institutions. All of this has made Washington the frequent focal point of massive political demonstrations and protests, particularly on the National Mall. Washington is also the site of numerous national landmarks, museums, and sports teams, and is a popular destination for tourists. The population of the District of Columbia, as of 2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, is 563,384. The Greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area includes the District of Columbia and parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, with a population surpassing 4.7 million. If Washington, D.C. were considered a state, it would rank last in area behind Rhode Island, 50th in population ahead of Wyoming, and 36th in Gross State Product, ahead of 15 states. __TOC__

History

Wyoming map of Washington, D.C.]] A Southern site for the new country's capital was agreed upon at a dinner between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. The initial plan for the "Federal City" was a diamond, ten miles wide on each side, totaling 100 square miles (260 square kilometers). The actual site on the Potomac River was chosen by President Washington. Washington may have chosen the site for its natural scenery, believing the Potomac would become a great navigable waterway. The city was officially named "Washington" on September 9, 1791. Out of modesty, George Washington never referred to it as such, preferring to call it "the Federal City". Despite choosing the site and living nearby at Mount Vernon, he rarely visited. On August 24, 1814, British forces burned the capital during the most notable and destructive raid of the War of 1812. President James Madison and U.S. forces fled before the British forces, who burned public buildings including the Capitol, the Navy Yard, and the Treasury building. The Presidential Mansion was also gutted. James Madison Washington remained a small city of a few thousand permanent residents until the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861. The significant expansion of the federal government to administer the war and its legacies—such as veterans' pensions—led to notable growth in the city's population. In July 1864, Confederate forces under Jubal Anderson Early made a brief raid into Washington, culminating in the Battle of Fort Stevens. The Confederates were repulsed and Early eventually returned to the Shenandoah Valley. The site, now called [http://www.nps.gov/batt/ Battleground National Cemetery] is located near present day Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest Washington. The battle was the only battle where a U.S. President, Lincoln, was present and under enemy fire while in office [http://www.nps.gov/rocr/ftcircle/stevens.htm 1]. In the early 1870s, Washington was given a territorial government, but Governor Alexander Shepherd's reputation for extravagance resulted in Congress abolishing his office in favor of direct rule. Congressional governance of the District would continue for a century. The Washington Monument opened in 1888. Plans were laid to further develop the monumental aspects of the city, with work contributed by such noted figures as Frederick Law Olmsted and Daniel Burnham. However, development of the Lincoln Memorial and other structures on the National Mall did not begin until the early 20th century. Lincoln Memorial The District's population peaked in 1950, when the census for that year recorded a record population of 802,178 people. At the time, the city was the ninth-largest in the country, ahead of Boston and behind Saint Louis. The population declined in the following decades, mirroring the suburban out-migration of many of the nation's older urban centers following World War II. The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on March 29, 1961, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for president and have their votes count in the Electoral College. The first 4.6 miles (7.4 kilometers) of the Washington Metro subway system opened on March 27, 1976. Walter Washington became the first elected mayor of the District in 1974. Marion Barry became mayor in 1978, but he was arrested for drug use in an FBI sting on January 18, 1990 and would serve a six-month jail term. His successor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, became the first black woman to lead a city of that size and importance in the U.S. But Barry defeated her in the 1994 primary and was once again elected mayor for his fourth term, during which time the city nearly became insolvent and was forced to give up some home rule to a congressionally-appointed financial control board. On September 29, 2004, Major League Baseball officially relocated the Montreal Expos to Washington for the 2005 season, now named the Washington Nationals, despite opposition from Orioles owner Peter Angelos. A very public back-and-forth between the city council and MLB threatened to scuttle the agreement until December 21, when a plan for a new stadium in Southeast D.C. was finalized. The Nationals will play at R.F.K. Stadium until the new stadium is ready in 2008.

Geography and climate

Geography

2008, 2002. The axes bounding its quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol building.]] Washington, D.C. is located at (the coordinates of the Zero Milestone, on The Ellipse). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 177.0 km² (68.3 mi²). 159.0 km² (61.4 mi²) of it is land and 18.0 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.16% water. Washington is surrounded by the states of Virginia (on its southwest side) and Maryland (on its southeast, northeast, and northwest sides); it interrupts those states' common border, which is the Potomac River's southern shore both upstream and downstream from the District. The Potomac River as it passes Washington is virtually entirely within the District of Columbia border. The physical geography of the District of Columbia is very similar to the physical geography of much of Maryland. The District has three major natural flowing bodies of water: the Potomac River, the Anacostia River, and Rock Creek. The Anacostia River and Rock Creek are tributaries of the Potomac River. There are also three man-made reservoirs: Dalecarlia Reservoir, which crosses over the northwest border of the District from Maryland; McMillan Reservoir near Howard University; and Georgetown Reservoir upstream of Georgetown. The highest point in the District of Columbia is 410 feet (125 m) above sea level at Tenleytown. The lowest point is sea level, which occurs along all of the Anacostia shore and all of the Potomac shore except the uppermost mile (the Little Falls - Chain Bridge area). The sea level Tidal Basin rose eleven feet during Hurricane Isabel on September 18, 2003. Geographical features of Washington, D.C. include Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, the Three Sisters, and Hains Point.

Climate

Washington's weather is seasonal subtropical with some variations between summer and winter, although it is moderated by its proximity to the coast, making its climate more moderate than cities at a similar latitude further inland. Summer tends to be very hot and humid with daily high temperatures in July and August averaging in the high 80s° to low 90s°F (about 30°C). Spring and fall are mild with high temperatures in April and October averaging in the high 60s°F (about 20°C). Winter can bring cold temperatures and, on some occassions, significant snowfall. While hurricanes (or the remnants of them) occasionally track through the area, they have often weakened by the time they reach Washington. The average annual snowfall is 17 inches (430 mm) and the average high temperature in January is 43°F (6°C); the average low for January is 24°F (−4°C). The highest recorded temperature was 106°F (41°C) on July 20, 1930 and August 6, 1918 and the lowest recorded temperature was −15°F (−26°C) on February 11, 1899. 1899

People and culture

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there are 572,059 people (2004 estimate: 553,523), 248,338 households, and 114,235 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,597.3/km² (9,316.4/mi²). There are 274,845 housing units at an average density of 1,728.3/km² (4,476.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 60.01% Black or African American, 32.78% White, 2.66% Asian, 0.30% Native American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.84% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. 7.86% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race, with Salvadorans being the largest Hispanic group. A plurality of whites are of British ancestry. There are 248,338 households out of which 19.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.8% are married couples living together, 18.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 54.0% are non-families. 43.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.16 and the average family size is 3.07. In the city the population is spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.1 males. The median income for a household in the city is $40,127, and the median income for a family is $46,283. Males have a median income of $40,513 versus $36,361 for females. The per capita income for the city is $28,659. 20.2% of the population and 16.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 31.1% of those under the age of 18 and 16.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. As of 2000, 83.2% of Washington, D.C. residents age 5 and older speak English at home and 9.2% speak Spanish. French is the third most spoken language at 1.8%, followed by African languages at 1.0% and Chinese at 0.5%. According to the 2001 [http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_studies/aris.pdf American Religious Identification Survey], nearly three out of four District residents self-identified as Christians. This breaks down to 72% Christian (27% Catholic, 19% Baptist, and 26% as some other form of Protestant), 13% stating no religion, and minor religions including 4% Buddhist, 2% Muslim, and 1% Jewish.

Housing

Due in part to the renewed expansion of the federal government, Washington has experienced a huge housing boom that has seen thousands of units constructed, along with thousands of people moving to the District. While the Census Bureau estimated in 2005 that the District's population will drop to 433,000 by 2030, city officials alleged systemic undercounting and released their own estimate that the District's population will rise to 712,000 by 2030.

Crime

During the violent crime wave of the early 1990s, Washington, D.C. was known as the murder capital of the United States. The number of homicides peaked in 1991 at 482, with violence declining drastically since then. Once plagued with violent crime, many D.C. neighborhoods, such as Columbia Heights, are becoming safe and vibrant areas as a result of gentrification. While not as intensely violent, crime hot spots have since displaced farther into the eastern sections of Washington, D.C. and across the border into Maryland. Although the eastern side of the city has developed a reputation for being unsafe, these crime hot spots are generally concentrated in very specific areas that are associated with drugs and gangs. Other areas east of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the city's wealthier Northwest neighborhoods, experience low levels of crime. Despite the declining trends, Washington D.C. crime rates (2004) remain among the highest of U.S. cities, behind only Camden, New Jersey, Detroit, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, and Gary, Indiana. [http://www.morganquitno.com/cit05pop.htm#25]

Landmarks and museums

Gary, Indiana Washington is home to numerous national landmarks and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. The National Mall is a large, open area in the center of the city featuring many monuments to American leaders, as well as connecting the White House and the United States Capitol buildings. Located prominently in the center of the Mall is the Washington Monument. Other notable points of interest near the Mall include the Jefferson Memorial (see right), Lincoln Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, National World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Albert Einstein Memorial. The world famous Smithsonian Institution, is also located in the District. The Smithsonian today is a collection of museums that includes the Anacostia Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History, National Portrait Gallery, National Postal Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Zoo. There are also many art museums in D.C., in addition to those that are part of the Smithsonian, including the National Gallery of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Corcoran Museum of Art, and the Phillips Collection. The Library of Congress and the National Archives house thousands of documents covering every period in American history. Some of the more notable documents in the National Archives include the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Other points of interest in the District include Arena Stage, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Blair House, Folger Shakespeare Library, Ford's Theatre, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, International Spy Museum, National Building Museum, Old Post Office Building, Theodore Roosevelt Island, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Washington National Cathedral.

Media

Newspaper

The Washington Post is the oldest and most-read daily newspaper in Washington, and has developed into one of the most reputable daily newspapers in the U.S., perhaps most notable for exposing the Watergate Scandal, among other achievements. The daily Washington Times and the free weekly Washington City Paper also have substantial readership in the District. On February 1, 2005 the free daily tabloid Washington Examiner debuted, having been formed from a chain of suburban newspapers known as the Journal Newspapers. The weekly Washington Blade focuses on gay issues, and the Washington Informer on African-American issues. Many neighborhoods in the District have their own small-circulation newspaper, usually published by the neighborhood association on a weekly basis. Some of these papers included the Dupont Current (Dupont Circle), Georgetown Current (Georgetown), In-Towner (Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, & Adams Morgan), Northwest Current (Upper Northwest), the Voice of the Hill, the Hill Rag (Capitol Hill), and East of the River (Anacostia).

Television

The metro area is well served by several local broadcast television stations, and is the eighth largest designated market area in the U.S., with 2,252,550 homes (2.04% of the U.S. population). Major television network affiliates include WUSA 9 (CBS), WJLA 7 (ABC), WRC 4, (NBC), WTTG 5 (Fox), WBDC 50 (WB), WDCA 20 (UPN), as well as WETA 26 and WHUT 32 (PBS) stations. Channels 4, 5, 20, and 50 are owned by the networks themselves. Public Access on Cable Television is also provided by the Public Access Corporation of the District of Columbia on two channels simulcast to both local cable TV Systems. One channel is devoted to religious programming and the other channel provides a diversity of offerings. Several cable television networks have their headquarters in the Washington area including C-SPAN on Capitol Hill, Black Entertainment Television (BET) in Northeast Washington, and Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Maryland. Major national broadcasters and cable outlets including NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and CNN also maintain a significant presence in Washington, as do those from around the world including the BBC, CBC, and Al Jazeera.

Radio

Al Jazeera There are also several major radio stations serving the metro area, with a wide variety of musical interests. Rock stations include WARW 94.7 FM (classic rock), WIHT 99.5 FM (top 40), WWDC, 101.1 FM (alternative rock), and WWZZ 104.1 FM (alternative rock). Urban stations include WPGC 95.5 FM (Rhythmic CHR/Mainstream Urban), WHUR 96.3 FM (student-run Howard University Urban AC station), WMMJ 102.3FM (Urban AC), WKYS 93.9 FM (Mainstream Urban), and Radio CPR 97.5 FM (a popular pirate radio station broadcasting the area around Mount Pleasant, Adams Morgan, and Columbia Heights). Stations that concentrate on talk and sports include WJFK 106.7 FM, WMAL 630 AM (conservative), WPGC 1580 AM (Urban Gospel), WTEM 980 AM (sports talk), and WTOP 1500 AM (all news). There are also two NPR affiliates: WAMU 88.5 FM (usual NPR programs, community programming, and BBC news) and WETA 90.9 FM (round-the-clock news/analysis, broadcasting shows originating mainly from NPR, PRI, and BBC). Other stations include WASH 97.1 FM (adult contemporary), WMZQ 98.7 FM (country music), WLZL 99.1 FM (Latin/Hispanic), WGMS 103.5 FM (classical music), WPFW 89.3 FM (jazz and progressive talk), WJZW 105.9 FM (smooth jazz), and WRQX 107.3 FM (adult contemporary). XM Satellite Radio and National Public Radio are based in Washington. The Voice of America, the U.S. government's international broadcasting service, is also headquartered in Washington.

Performing arts

There are a number of venues for the performing arts in the city. Arena Stage, one of the first not-for-profit regional theaters in the nation, is rich with history and produces an eight-show season ranging from classics to world premieres, dedicated to the American canon of theater. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosts the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, the Washington Ballet, and a variety of other musical and stage performances. Notable local music clubs include Madam's Organ Blues Bar in Adams Morgan; the Eighteenth Street Lounge in the Dupont Circle district; and the Black Cat, the 9:30 Club, and the Bohemian Caverns jazz club, all in the U Street NW area. D.C. has its own native music genre, called go-go, a post-funk, percussion-driven flavor of R&B that blends live sets with relentless dance rhythms (that "go and go and go.") The most accomplished practitioner of go-go was D.C. bandleader Chuck Brown, who brought go-go to the brink of national recognition with his 1979 LP Bustin' Loose. Go-Go band and Washington natives Experience Unlimited hit the American pop charts in 1988 with their memorable dance tune "Da Butt". Washington was also an important center in the genesis of punk rock in the United States. Punk bands of note from Washington include Fugazi, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat. Native Washingtonians continue to support punk bands, long after the punk movement's popularity peaked. The region also has a storied indie rock history and was home to TeenBeat and Simple Machines, among other indie record labels. There have also been a number of television series that have featured the District. Most of these have been related to government (The West Wing) or security organizations (The District, Get Smart). Other programs had the nation's capital as a secondary focus, telling stories on their own that were not always tied to the infrastructure of the government either in the district or for the country. For instance, Murphy Brown focused on the lives of the reporters of the (fictional) Washington-based television newsmagazine, FYI. The soap opera Capitol allowed for stories about political intrigue alongside the traditional class struggle sagas. The sitcom 227 portrayed the life of the African-American majority as seen through the eyes of residents in a Washington apartment building.

Sports

Washington Metro area is home to several professional sports teams: the MLS D.C. United, the NHL Washington Capitals, the NBA Washington Wizards, the WNBA Washington Mystics, the MLB Washington Nationals, and the NFL Washington Redskins (now based at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland). Other professional and semi-professional teams based in D.C. include the USAFL Baltimore Washington Eagles, the NWFA D.C. Divas, the Minor League Football D.C. Explosion, and the Washington Cricket League. It was also home to the WUSA Washington Freedom, and, during the 2000–2002 NLL seasons, the Washington Power was based in the city. There were two Major League Baseball teams named the Washington Senators in the early and mid-20th century, which left to become respectively the Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers. In the 19th century, the town was home to teams called the Washington Nationals, Washington Statesmen, and Washington Senators on and off from the 1870s to the turn of the century. Washington was also home to several Negro League teams, including the Homestead Grays, Washington Black Senators, Washington Elite Giants, Washington Pilots, and Washington Potomacs. The MCI Center in Chinatown, Washington, D.C., home to the Capitals, Mystics, Wizards, and the Georgetown Hoyas, is also a major venue for concerts, WWE professional wrestling, and other events. Washington also hosts the annual Legg Mason Tennis Classic tennis tournament that takes place at the Carter Barron Tennis Center on 16th Street.

Economy

Carter Barron Tennis Center Washington, D.C. is first and foremost a company town, with the primary company being, of course, the federal government. A significant portion of the metro area's population has some sort of connection to the federal government. Also, the presence of many major government agencies, including the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, or the Food and Drug Administration, has led to a significant amount of business development both in the District itself as well as in the suburbs of northern Virginia and Maryland. These businesses include federal contractors (defense and civilian), numerous nonprofit organizations, law firms and lobbying firms, catering and administrative services companies, and several other industries that are sustained by the enormous economic presence of the federal government. This arrangement has the effect of making the Washington economy virtually recession-proof relative to the rest of the country, because the federal government will still operate no matter the state of the general economy, and often grows during recessions. The metro area includes thirteen major Fortune 500 companies, including:
- Freddie Mac (McLean, Fairfax County)
- Fannie Mae
- electric utility Pepco Holdings Incorporated
- manufacturing company Danaher
- communications giant Nextel (Reston, Fairfax County)
- the credit card company Capital One (McLean, Fairfax County)
- AES Corporation (Arlington County)
- Gannett (McLean, Fairfax County), the publisher of USA Today
- SLM Corporation (Reston, Fairfax County)
- NVR Incorporated (McLean, Fairfax County)
- hotel services company Marriott International (Bethesda, Montgomery County)
- Choice Hotels (Silver Spring, Montgomery County)
- Coventry Healthcare Incorporated (Bethesda, Montgomery County) Defense contractors General Dynamics (Falls Church) and Lockheed Martin (Bethesda) are also in the metro area. In addition to Nextel, several other major network and communications companies are located in the area, including America Online (Dulles) and MCI Communications (Ashburn). Other media companies located in the DC metro area include the new XM Satellite Radio and Al Hurra (Springfield), a new cable new channel marketed towards Arabic countries. The Public Broadcasting Service is also based in suburban Alexandria, while Discovery Communications, the parent company of such cable networks as the Discovery Channel, is based in Silver Spring. The largest private employer in DC is the [http://wwww.bna.com Bureau of National Affairs], a publishing company based in the west end of the city since the early 1950s. The aerospace and commercial air travel industries also have a major presence in the area, in addition to the aforementioned General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and US Airways. Independence Air, based in Dulles, started service in 2004, and operates as a low-cost air carrier to many major airports in the United States. The regional airline Colgan Air, based in Manassas, also operates out of the DC area. Defense contractor Orbital Sciences Corporation is also based in Dulles and specializes in satellite launch and manufacture. Due to the proximity to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, the American genomics industry has recently sprouted in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. Prominent players are Celera Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research (also known as "TIGR"), and Human Genome Sciences (all of which are in the city of Rockville). The gross state product of the District in 2004 was $75.264 billion, ranking it #36 when compared with the fifty states.

Infrastructure

Government

Local government

$ The city is run by an elected mayor (currently Anthony A. Williams) and a city council. The city council is composed of 13 members — a representative elected from each of the eight wards and five members, including the chairman, elected at large. The council conducts its work through standing committees and special committees established as needed. District schools are administered by a school board that has both elected and appointed members. There are also 37 elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that provide the most direct access for residents to their local government. The ANCs serve as local councils, and their suggestions are required to be given "great weight" by the DC Council. However, the U.S. Congress has the ultimate plenary power over the district. It has the right to review and overrule laws created locally, and has often done so. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not apply to the District of Columbia. D.C. residents do pay all federal taxes, such as income tax, as well as local taxes. The mayor and council adopt a budget of local money with Congress reserving the right to make any changes. Much of the valuable property in the District is federally owned and hence exempt from local property taxes; at the same time, the city is burdened with the extraordinary expenses related to its role as the capital, such as police overtime and street cleaning for D.C.'s frequent parades and festivals. These factors are often used to explain why the city's budget is frequently overstretched. However, the federal government also appropriates funds for the city. For instance, according to Public Law 108-7, the federal government provided, among other funds, an estimated 25% of the District's operating budget in 2003. Historically, the city's local government has earned somewhat of a reputation for mismanagement and waste, particularly during the mayoralty of Marion Barry. A front page story in the July 21, 1997 Washington Post reported that Washington had some of the highest cost, lowest quality services in the region. Prosperity in the late 1990s and early 2000s has lessened public pressure on Mayor Williams, who still faces daunting urban renewal, public health, and public education challenges.

Representation in federal government

2000s The U.S. Constitution gives Congress direct jurisdiction for Washington, D.C. While Congress has delegated various amounts of this authority to local government, from time to time, Congress still intervenes in local affairs relating to schools, gun control policy, and other issues. Citizens of the District also lack voting representation in Congress, though they do have three electoral votes in the Presidential elections. Citizens of Washington are represented in the House of Representatives by a non-voting delegate (currently Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC At-Large)) who sits on committees and participates in debate but cannot vote. D.C. does not have representation in the Senate. Citizens of Washington, D.C. are thus unique in the world, as citizens of the capital city of every other country have the same representation rights as other citizens. Attempts to change this situation, including the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful. The history of D.C.'s relationship with the federal government, as well as the arguments for and against increased representation, are covered in the article District of Columbia voting rights.

Education

Public schools

The public school system in the city is operated by District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and consists of 167 schools and learning centers, which breakdown into 101 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, 9 junior high schools, 20 senior high schools, 6 education centers, and 20 special schools. :See also: District of Columbia Public Schools

Private schools

Other schools in the city include the British School of Washington, Emerson Preparatory School, the Georgetown Day School, the Gonzaga Prepartory School, the Edmund Burke School, the Field School, the German School, the Maret School, the National Cathedral School, Our Lady of Victory, Reformed Theological Seminary, Sheridan School, the Sidwell Friends School, St. Albans School, St. Anselm's Abbey School, St. John's College High School, and the Washington Theological Union.

Colleges and universities

The city also is home to several universities, colleges, and other institutes of higher education, both public and private. The University of the District of Columbia is the city's public university; UDC is the nation's only urban land-grant university and is counted among the historically black colleges. The Department of Agriculture's Graduate School offers continuing-education and graduate-level classes. The Department of Defense maintains the National Defense University at Fort McNair. Among private institutions, Georgetown University is older than the District itself, dating to the late 18th century. It is also the nation's oldest Roman Catholic body of higher education. The two other Roman Catholic universities in the District are The Catholic University of America and Trinity University. The George Washington University, founded by an act of Congress in 1821, is the largest institution of higher education in the nation's capital with its main campus in Foggy Bottom and its Mount Vernon campus in the Foxhall neighborhood of Northwest Washington. GWU is also the second-largest landholder and employer in the District, second only to the Federal government. American University, chartered by act of Congress in 1893, is situated on a 72 acre campus in upper Northwest Washington and is well known for the Washington College of Law, the Kogod School of Business, the School of International Service, and the School of Communication. Also known for international affairs, The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), is dedicated to the graduate study of international relations and international economics and is located near Dupont Circle. Other notable private colleges in the District include Gallaudet University, the first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing; Howard University, a historically black university dating to the 19th century; and Southeastern University. The Corcoran College of Art and Design has an arts program attatched to the Corcoran Museum of Art, adjacent to the White House Complex. Strayer University, a for-profit career school, has a campus in Washington, D.C.

Transportation

Aviation

Washington, D.C. is served by three major airports, two of them located in suburban Virginia and one located in Maryland. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is the closest — located in Arlington, Virginia, just across the January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. It is still celebrated as New Year's Eve by those on the Julian calendar. There are 352 days remaining (353 in a leap year).

Events


- 888 - Odo, Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks.
- 1099 - Crusaders set fire to Mara, Syria.
- 1328 - Edward III of England marries Philippa, daughter of the Count of Hainault.
- 1547 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey sentenced to death
- 1559 - Elizabeth I crowned queen of England in Westminster Abbey.
- 1602 - William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor is published.
- 1605 - The controversial play Eastward Hoe by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John Marston is performed, landing two of the authors in prison.
- 1607 - Bank of Genoa fails after announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain.
- 1610 - Galileo Galilei discovers Callisto, 4th satellite of Jupiter.
- 1622 - Work on the printing of the First Folio of William Shakespeare is suspended.
- 1625 - John Milton, 16, admitted to Christ's College, Cambridge.
- 1733 - James Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrive in Charleston,South Carolina.
- 1785 - John Walter publishes first issue of the Daily Universal Register (later renamed The Times).
- 1830 - Great fire in New Orleans thought to be set by rebel slaves.
- 1832 - President Andrew Jackson wrote Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina's defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
- 1834 - John Mason Cook, whom JMC Air is named after was born.
- 1840 - The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
- 1847 - The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican-American War in California.
- 1854 - The accordion is patented by Anthony Faas.
- 1869 - National convention of black leaders meets in Washington D.C.
- 1893 - The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting.
  - US Marines land in Honolulu from the U.S.S. Boston to protect the king and stop the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
- 1898 - Emile Zola's J'accuse exposes the Dreyfus affair.
- 1913 - Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Inc. founded. Currently the largest African-American women's organization
- 1915 - Earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800
- 1930 - Mickey Mouse comic strip makes first appearance.
- 1935 - A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
- 1942 - Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
  - The United States begins the iternment of Japanese-Americans living on the American west coast.
- 1953 - Marshal Josip Broz Tito chosen President of Yugoslavia.
- 1957 - Wham-O Company produces the first Frisbee.
- 1958 - Moroccan Liberation Army ambushes Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera
- 1966 - Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member by being appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
- 1972 - Prime Minister Kofi Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana were ousted in a bloodless military coup by Col. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
- 1982 - Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90 737 jet crashes into Washington, DC's 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists. Plane was not properly de-iced. There were five survivors.
- 1986 - A month-long violent struggle began in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
- 1989 - The final episode of the American soap opera Ryan's Hope is aired, ending a 14-year run on the network.
- 1990 - L. Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
- 1991 - Soviet military troops attacked Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius.
- 1992 - Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
- 1998 - ABC and ESPN negotiate a $1.15 billion a season contract to keep Monday Night Football.
- 1999 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls basketball team announces his retirement (for the second time -- he has since rescinded his retirement).
- 2001 - An earthquake hits El Salvador. More than 800 deaths.
- 2002 - US President George W. Bush faints after choking on a pretzel.

Births

1334 to 1899


- 1334 - King Henry II of Castile (d. 1379)
- 1562 - Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet (d. 1601)
- 1596 - Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter (d. 1656)
- 1610 - Maria Anna of Austria (d. 1665)
- 1616 - Antoinette Bourignon, Flemish mystic (d. 1680)
- 1635 - Philipp Jakob Spener, German theologian (d. 1705)
- 1651 - Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English politician (d. 1694)
- 1720 - Richard Hurd, English bishop and writer (d. 1808)
- 1749 - Friedrich Müller, painter, narrator, lyricist and dramatist (d. 1825)
- 1805 - Thomas Dyer, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
- 1808 - Salmon Chase, Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1873)
- 1812 - Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (d. 1883)
- 1832 - Horatio Alger, Jr., American minister and author (d. 1899)
- 1861 - Max Nonne, German neurologist (d. 1959)
- 1864 - Wilhelm Wien, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
- 1866 - Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian composer (d. 1901)
- 1879 - Melvin Jones, American founder of Lions Clubs International (d. 1961)
- 1884 - Sophie Tucker, Russian-born singer, comedienne, and vaudeville performer (d. 1966)
- 1893 - Clark Ashton Smith, American writer (d. 1961)
- 1899 - Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)

1900 to 1999


- 1909 - Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch communist accused of setting fire to the Reichstag (d. 1934)
- 1911 - Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland (d. 2005)
- 1919 - Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1924 - Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1994)
- 1925 - Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
- 1926 - Michael Bond, British writer
- 1926 - Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American feminist author (d. 2003)
- 1927 - Brock Adams, American politician (d. 2004)
- 1927 - Sydney Brenner, British biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1930 - Liz Anderson, American singer
- 1930 - Frances Sternhagen, American actress
- 1931 - Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor
- 1934 - Rip Taylor, American actor
- 1938 - William B. Davis, Canadian actor
- 1938 - Tord Grip, Swedish football manager
- 1942 - Richard Moll, American actor
- 1943 - Carol Cleveland, English actress
- 1948 - Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur
- 1949 - Brandon Tartikoff, American television executive (d. 1997)
- 1954 - Trevor Rabin, South African musician (Yes)
- 1955 - Jay McInerney, American writer
- 1958 - Andrew Stanton, American actor and director
- 1961 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress
- 1961 - Graham McPherson, English singer
- 1962 - Trace Adkins, American musician
- 1964 - Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
- 1966 - Patrick Dempsey, American actor
- 1969 - Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player
- 1970 - A. Onomen Asikele West African Born Writer, Poet & Filmmaker
- 1970 - Keith Coogan, American actor
- 1970 - Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
- 1972 - Nicole Eggert, American actress
- 1973 - Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian hockey player
- 1977 - Orlando Bloom, English actor
- 1980 - Krzysztof Czerwinski, Polish conductor and organist
- 1982 - Guillermo Coria, Argentine tennis player
- 1983 - William Hung, Hong Kong-born singer

Deaths

85 BC to 1899


- 85 BC - Gaius Marius, Roman general and politician
- 703 - Empress Jitō of Japan (b. 645)
- 858 - King Ethelwulf of Wessex
- 888 - Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1138 - Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
- 1151 - Abbot Suger, French statesman and historian
- 1177 - Henry II of Austria (b. 1107)
- 1330 - Duke Frederick I of Austria (b. 1286)
- 1363 - Meinhard III, Count of Tyrol
- 1547 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1517)
- 1599 - Edmund Spenser, English poet (b. 1552)
- 1658 - Edward Sexby, English Puritan soldier (b. 1616)
- 1691 - George Fox, English founder of the Quakers (b. 1624)
- 1762 - Leonhard Trautsch, German composer (b. 1694)
- 1766 - King Frederick V of Denmark (b. 1723)
- 1775 - Johann Georg Walch, German theologian (b. 1693)
- 1790 - Luc Urbain de Bouexic, comte de Guichen, French admiral (b. 1712)
- 1796 - John H. D. Anderson, Scottish scientist and inventor (b. 1726)
- 1797 - Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern, queen of Frederick II of Prussia (b. 1715)
- 1852 - Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian explorer (b. 1778)
- 1864 - Stephen Foster, American composer (b. 1826)

1900 to 1999


- 1923 - Alexandre Ribot, French statesman (b. 1842)
- 1929 - Wyatt Earp, Western lawman (b. 1848)
- 1941 - James Joyce, Irish writer (b. 1882)
- 1962 - Ernie Kovacs, American actor and comedian (b. 1919)
- 1974 - Salvador Novo, Mexican writer and poet (b. 1904)
- 1978 - Hubert H. Humphrey,