Yesterday, the Dow was up 5.78 points (0.02%) at 25,322.31, the NASDAQ increased 14.41 points (0.19%) to 7,659.93, and the S&P 500 inched 2.97 points (0.11%) higher, finishing at 2,782.00. The Russell 2000 was up 2.19 points (0.13%) at 1,674.68, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 39.35 points (0.14%) higher at 29,026.63.

ON THIS DATE: In 1838, the Iowa Territory was organized. In 1849, Lewis Haslett patented a gas mask. In 1897, Carl Elsener patented his penknife. The object later became known as the Swiss army knife. In 1901, Cuba agreed to become an American protectorate by accepting the Platt Amendment. In 1918, the first airplane bombing raid by an American unit occurred on World War I’s Western Front in France. In 1939, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, New York. In 1948, Ben Hogan won his first U.S. Open golf classic. In 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers was fatally shot in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1967, state laws which prohibited interracial marriages were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1985, Wayne Gretsky was named winner of the NHL’s Hart Trophy. The award is given to the league’s Most Valuable Player. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. In 1991, the Chicago Bulls won their first NBA championship. The Bulls beat the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one. In 1997, the U.S. Treasury Department unveiled a new $50 bill meant to be more counterfeit-resistant. In 2009, in the U.S., the switch from analog TV transmission to digital was completed.