In 1867, America formally takes possession of Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less than two cents an acre. The Alaska purchase comprised 586,412 square miles, about twice the size of Texas, and was championed by William Henry Seward, the expansionist secretary of state under President Andrew Johnson.
Today in 1898, only one year after Spain granted Puerto Rico self-rule, American troops raise the U.S. flag over the Caribbean nation, signaling U.S. authority over the island’s one million inhabitants.
Lastly, on this day In 1931, Thomas Alva Edison, one of the most prolific inventors in history died at the age of 84.
Source:
History.com