1776 - The first Continental Navy squadron is ordered to sea by Congress to seek the British off coasts of the Carolinas and Rhode Island and in the Chesapeake Bay.
1875 - Cmdr. Edward Lull leaves New York to begin the Panamanian Expedition to locate the best ship canal route across Panama. The route mapped is followed 30 years later.
1943 - While bombing airfields and installations during the Guadalcanal campaign, USS Helena (CL 50) becomes the first U.S. Navy ship to use Mk.32 proximity-fused projectiles in combat, downing a Japanese Aichi Type 99 carrier bomber (VAL) with her second salvo.
1944 - USS Omaha (CL 4) and USS Jouett (DD 396) were summoned to engage the German blockade runner Burgenland under the guise of SS Rio Grande. Gunfire and scuttling charges, sank the German runner.
1945 - Kamikaze attacks continued against the U.S. Navy force bound for the Lingayen Gulf. Eight ships were hit and Rear Admiral Theodore E. Chandler was among those who were killed.
2005 - USNS Mercy departs for the tsunami-devastated regions of South East Asia. There she provides medical care to the victims of the disaster as part of Operation Unified Assistance.
