1868-Meiji Restoration returns authority to Japan's emperors
1871-Oleomargarine patented by Henry Bradley, Binghamton, N.Y.
1872-First patent list issued by U.S. Patent Office
1876-First free kindergarten in U.S. opens in Florence MA
1888-First wax drinking straw patented, by Marvin C. Stone in Washington,D.C.
1890-First U.S. college-level dairy school opens at University of Wisconsin
1924-British Egyptologist Howard Carter finds sarcophagus of Tutankhamun
1976-U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1977-Apple Computer incorporated
1984-Syria frees captured U.S. pilot after appeal from Jesse Jackson
1985-Israel government confirms resettlement of 10,000 Ethiopian Jews
1987-Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducts first female artist Aretha Franklin
1988-Margaret Thatcher becomes longest-serving British PM this century
1989-Russian newspaper Izvestia gets its first commercial advertisement
1991-Israel reopens consulate in USSR after 23 years
1994-100s killed in Venezuela in prison revolt