493 - Ostrogoten King Theodorik the Great beats Odoaker 1845 - US Congress authorizes ocean mail contracts for foreign mail delivery 1863 - Free city delivery replaces zone postage; 449 letter carriers hired 1883 - Congress authorizes the 1st steel vessels in US navy 1915 - US National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) created, the predecessor of NASA 1959 - The Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts opens in Yerevan, Armenia, with a collection of over 23,000 manuscripts 1966 - Kwame Nkrumah flees Ghana to exile in Conakry, Guinea 1987 - Ray Dandridge, third baseman in Negro Leagues, eleected to Hall of Fame More Historical Events »