On This Day. 1798: John Adams named George Washington commander of the United States Army. A possible war with France loomed, and ever the patriot, Washington—who had retired a year earlier after two terms as president—said that he would accept the position /1
Washington wrote Adams: “Feeling how incumbent it is upon every person, of every description, to contribute at all times to his Countrys (sic) welfare, and especially in a moment like the present, when every thing we hold dear & Sacred is so seriously threatened...I accept”
On This Day. 1898: Aloha! William McKinley signed a resolution that annexed Hawaii as a U.S. territory. Hawaii had just been seized during the Spanish-American war - and would become the 50th state in 1959
Wow! Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter celebrate their 72d anniversary today - second-longest presidential marriage after George H.W. and Barbara Bush. Every best wish for good health and happiness to President and Mrs. Carter 
On This Day. 1958: North to Alaska. Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill approving Alaskan statehood. Alaska had been a U.S. territory since its purchase from the Russians in 1867. The U.S. paid just $7.2 million, or 2.3 cents an acre
On This Day. 1981. Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor to be the first female justice on the Supreme Court. O'Connor generally sided with the court's conservative bloc, but as the court edged to the right over the years, she often came to be regarded as a swing vote
