On This Day in:

1781 – Richmond, VA, was burned by a British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold.

1885 – The Long Island Railroad Company became the first to offer piggy-back rail service which was the transportation of farm wagons on trains.

1896 – It was reported by The Austrian newspaper that Wilhelm Roentgen had discovered the type of radiation that became known as X-rays.

1900 – In Ireland, Nationalist leader John Edward Redmond called for a revolt against British rule.

1903 – The general public could use the Pacific cable for the very first time.

1914 – Ford Motor Company announced that there would be a new daily minimum wage of $5 and an eight-hour workday.

1925 – Mrs. Nellie Taylor Ross was sworn in as the governor of Wyoming She was the first female governor in the U.S.

1933 – In California, construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began.

1934 – Both the National and American baseball leagues decided to use a uniform-size baseball. It was the first time in 33 years that both leagues used the same size ball. (MLB)

1935 – Phil Spitalny’s All-Girl Orchestra was featured on CBS radio on the program, 'The Hour of Charm.'

1940 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) got its very first demonstration of FM radio.

1944 – The London 'Daily Mail' was the first transoceanic newspaper to be published.

1948 – Warner Brothers-Pathe showed the very first color newsreel. The footage was of the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football classic.

1956 – In the Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy walked on two legs for the first time. He had previously been presented as a more typical pet dog in the comic.

1957 – Pat Boone began filming the movie 'Bernardine.'

1959 – 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore' backed by 'Raining in My Heart' was released by Coral Records. It was the last release of Buddy Holly before his death. 1976 – Mal Evans was shot to death by police at his Los Angeles apartment. Evans allegedly pointed a loaded rifle at officers causing them to fire upon him.

Evans was a former roadie and bodyguard of the Beatles.

1961 – 'Mr. Ed' debuted. The show would run for six years.

1970 – 'All My Children' premiered on ABC.

1972 – U.S. President Richard M. Nixon ordered the development of the space shuttle.

1975 – 'The Wiz' opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre.

The show transferred to the Broadway Theatre on May 25, 1977 to rave reviews and was later adapted as a motion picture.

1978 – The Sex Pistols' U.S. concert debut took place.

1978 – Prince made his solo performance debut in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1984 – The Police, announced a farewell concert for March 2 in Australia. The group had been together for 9 years.

1987 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan underwent prostate surgery.

1993 – The state of Washington executed Westley Allan Dodd. It was America's first legal hanging since 1965. Dodd was an admitted child sex killer.

1996 – Yahya Ayyash, a member of the Hamas in Israel, is killed by a booby-trapped cellular phone.

1998 – U.S. Representative Sonny Bono died in skiing accident.

2002 – A 15 year-old student pilot, Charles Bishop, crashed a small plane into a building in Tampa, FL. Bishop was about to begin a flying lesson when he took off without permission and without an instructor.