1915: Library of Congress: The German U-20 (submarine) sank the British ocean liner Lusitania. Approximately 1,200 civilians died; more than 100 were U.S. citizens. In reply to President Woodrow Wilson's protest, Germany justified the attack on grounds that the British government intended to arm merchant ships. The Lusitania carried both passengers and ammunition that had been manufactured in the United States. Public outrage over the loss of civilian life hastened the U.S. entry into World War I.

1892: Library of Congress: Archibald MacLeish, poet, dramatist, and ninth Librarian of Congress, was born in Glencoe, Illinois. He attended Yale University where he chaired the Yale Literary Magazine. After service in World War I, he graduated from Harvard Law School. MacLeish practiced law for three years before resigning and moving his family to Paris. In 1928, MacLeish returned to the United States to research and write his epic poem Conquistador about the Spanish conquest of Mexico.