Wednesday, the Dow closed 28.10 points (0.11%) lower at 24,726.65, the NASDAQ was down 2.89 points (0.04%) at 6,960.96, and the S&P 500 decreased 2.22 points (0.08%) to 2,679.25. The Russell 2000 increased 3.33 points (0.22%) to 1,540.08, and the Wilshire 5000 was down 13.51 points (0.05%) at 27,808.43.

ON THIS DATE: In 1620, the “Mayflower”, and its passengers, pilgrims from England, landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. In 1898, scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium. In 1909, McKinley and Washington schools of Berkeley, California, became the first authorized, junior-high schools in the U.S. In 1937, Walt Disney debuted the first, full-length, animated feature in Hollywood. The movie was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” In 1945, U.S. Gen. George S. Patton died in Heidelberg, Germany, of injuries from a car accident. In 1951, Joe DiMaggio announced his retirement from major league baseball. In 1991, 11 of the 12 former Soviet republics proclaimed the birth of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In 1996, U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich admitted violating House ethics rules. In 1998, the first vaccine for Lyme disease was approved.