| 1805 | The Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at the Pacific Ocean. |
| 1874 | The first cartoon depicting the elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party was printed in Harper’s Weekly. [Thomas Nast was the artist.] |
| 1916 | Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. |
| 1917 | The Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian government in St. Petersburg. |
| 1940 | Only four months after its completion, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state, the third longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, collapsed. No one was injured. |
Video of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge disaster:
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Update: Blue Ollie has more information on the bridge collapse — and is generally worth a visit.
Posted by Ed Darrell 
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 