On this day in 1949, U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act Amendment, streamlining the defense agencies of the United States government, and replacing the Department of War with the United States Department of Defense.
On this day in 1988, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, providing $20,000 payments to Japanese Americans who were either interned in or relocated by the United States during World War II.
On this day in 2003, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko became the first person to marry in outer space.
On this day in 2012, the Marikana massacre began near Rustenburg, South Africa, resulting in the deaths of 47 people.