John C. Davis (born 1866)

In 1866, in the year that John C. Davis was born, Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in Germany. During his lifetime he held 355 patents, of which dynamite was the most famous. He also established the Nobel Prizes in his will.

In 1875, on February 18th, the Mason County War, also called the Hoodoo War, began. In central Texas, a German-American mob broke into a jail with a battering ram and lynched two suspected cattle rustlers. Thus began a year of vigilante "justice."

In 1914, in June, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by a Yugoslavian national. Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to Serbia. Other major powers took sides - and World War I began: Austria declared war on Serbia; Germany on Russia and France; Britain on Germany . . . and on it went until most of the world was embroiled in the war.

In 1959, on August 8th, Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States. The US flag was changed to show 50 stars.

In 1977, on January 20th, Jimmy Carter became the 39th President of the United States. Running against incumbent Gerald Ford, he won 50.1% of the popular vote to Ford's 48.0%. He was elected to only one term.