In 1937, a six-week-old sit-down strike against General Motors ended, and the company agreed to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union.

In 1963, American author and poet Sylvia Plath was found dead in her London flat, a suicide; she was 30.

In 1968, New York City’s fourth and current Madison Square Garden, located on Manhattan’s West Side, opened with a “Salute to the USO” hosted by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

In 1990, South African black activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity.

In 2006, Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded Harry Whittington, a companion, during a weekend quail-hunting trip in Texas.

In 2012, pop singer Whitney Houston, 48, was found dead in a hotel room bathtub in Beverly Hills, Calif.