Richard Beatty (died 1961)

In 1803, the first public library in the United States - free to everyone - opened in Salisbury, Connecticut. Damage to books was most often caused by "greasing" - candle wax dripping onto the books. Candles were the only source of light in the evenings.

In 1846, on June 15th, the Oregon Treaty - between Great Britain and the US - was signed. The Treaty agreed that the 49th parallel would be the border between the United States and Canada. Since the actual border wasn't clear in the Treaty, dispute about what was Canada and what was the US continued for a decade.

In 1875, on May 17th, Aristides was the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby. It was the first year of the "The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports" - begun by Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., the grandson of William Clark, the explorer.

In 1887, on January 28th, the largest recorded snowflakes fell in a snowstorm in Fort Keogh, Montana. They were supposed to have been 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick. A rancher in the area said that they were “larger than milk pans”. A Wild West tall tale? Not according to the Guinness World Records book.

In 1961, in the year of Richard Beatty's passing, on January 20th, John F. Kennedy became the 35th President of the United States. He had previously been a U.S. Senator and a Congressman, both from the state of Massachusetts, as well as a Naval lieutenant in World War II.