In 1916, eight Curtiss JN-3 “Jenny” airplanes with the First Aero Squadron took off from Columbus, N.M., to aid troops that had invaded Mexico in pursuit of the bandit Pancho Villa. It was the first U.S. air combat mission in history.

In 1918, the U.S. Congress passed the Standard Time Act, which authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish standard time zones and daylight saving time.

In 1931, the Nevada Legislature voted to legalize gambling.

File Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI

In 1935, the so-called Harlem Riot broke out after a crowd of onlookers mistakenly believed that a white business owner had beaten — and possibly killed — a 12-year-old Black boy accused of stealing candy. The child hadn’t been beaten, but the riot, which left three people dead, is considered by some historians to be the first modern race riot.

In 1953, legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille won the only Academy Award of his career when The Greatest Show on Earth, a big-budget extravaganza about circus life, was acclaimed the Best Picture. The 25th annual awards ceremony was the first to be broadcast on television.

In 1987, South Carolina televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as head of the PTL Club, saying he was blackmailed after a sexual encounter with a former church secretary.

In 1991, the NFL voted to revoke the plan for Phoenix to host the 1993 Super Bowl because the city did not observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In 2005, Pakistan successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile with a range of 1,250 miles.

In 2024, Finland was named the happiest country in the world for the seventh-straight year and Afghanistan was the least happy in the annual World Happiness Report. The United States dropped out of the Top 20 happiest nations.

File Photo courtesy of Finland’s President Press Office