1965: NASA's Gemini 5 mission launched with two astronauts - Colonel Cooper and Lieutenant Commander Conrad - who broke a new international record by orbiting the Earth for eight days.

1912: Arthur R. Eldred of Oceanside, New York, achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. He was the first person to earn the award. The Boy Scout movement began with the 1908 publication of British Lieutenant General Robert S. S. Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys. (Source: Library of Congress)

1858: The first debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas was held in the town square of Ottawa, Illinois. Lincoln was running against Douglas for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Douglas had been one of the two senators from Illinois since 1847. After a series of debates, the events are now known as the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Lincoln lost to Douglas but two years later beat him in the presidential race.