Associated Press

On Oct.18, 1867, the United States took formal possession of Alaska from Russia.

In 1898, the American flag was first raised in Puerto Rico, shortly before Spain formally relinquished control of the island to the United States.

In 1954, Texas Instruments unveiled the Regency TR-1, the first commercially produced transistor radio.

In 1968, American track and field athlete Bob Beamon shattered the previous long jump world record by nearly two feet, leaping 29 feet, 2 1/4 inches at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, overriding President Richard Nixon’s veto.

In 1977, West German commandos stormed a hijacked Lufthansa jetliner on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia, freeing all 87 hostages and four crew members and killing three of the four hijackers.