1792: First top hat is worn. It's a big improvement on the "bottom hat" that had been introduced the year before.
1870: The donkey is first used as a symbol of the Democratic party. Meant to convey stubbornness at the time, it has other implications today.
1919: The Boston Molasses Disaster kills 21 very, very slow people. Astonishingly, no one blames the New York Yankees.
1973: Gene Shalit joins the Today Show; his moustache, however, holds out for more money, and doesn't appear until late March.