1922 - 18 year old Ralph Samuelson slapped a pair of sticks on his feet, grabbed hold of a rope behind a boat, and became the world's first waterskier. (His brother Ben operated the powerboat that pulled Ralph along. He broke the original skis in one landing, but his slightly-modified second pair still can be seen at the Water Ski Hall of Fame museum in Winter Haven, Florida.)
1960 - 45 men were killed in a gas explosion at a coal mine in Monmouthshire, Wales.
2004 - The United States handed power back to the Iraqi people at a low-key ceremony in Baghdad.