In New York City, W.L. Byrn was the first to patent the wine bottle opening corkscrew in the United States. It had a long screw with the familiar wooden "T" handle. (By John Osborne)

Canadian doctor Abraham Gesner patented in the United States his 1846 development of extracting coal oil for lamps. Gesner set up the North American Kerosene Gaslight Company of Newton Creek on Long Island, New York. (By John Osborne)

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Frederick Langenheim made the country's first photographs of a solar eclipse.  He took eight photographs in sequence showing the stages of the eclipse. (By John Osborne)

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Eleazor A. Gardner patented the country's first cable car design. (By John Osborne)

On this day, the Zoological Society of Philadelphia incorporated the Philadelphia Zoological Garden, the first zoo in the United States.  The Philadelphia Zoo did not open to the public, however, until July 1, 1874. (By John Osborne)

Republican Coles Bashford is sworn in as Wisconsin governor after a a contentious election that had seen the State Supreme Court remove the sitting governor, William Barstow, over election irregularities. The court had declared Bashford the rightful winner and Barstow had resigned the week before. (By John Osborne)

Governor William Augustus Barstow, a Democrat, resigned from office the day after a Wisconsin State Supreme Court judgment over election irregularities declared him removed. Lieutenant-Governor Arthur MacArthur was sworn in to replace him but Republican Coles Bashford, who the Court had ruled the rightfully winner, became governor within a week. (By John Osborne)

Governor William Augustus Barstow, a Democrat, was removed from office by order of the Wisconsin State Supreme Court over election irregularities during the election for his second term. The Court supported Republican Coles Bashford as the rightful winner. This was the first such court action in United States history. Barstow resigned the next day and Lieutenant-Governor Arthur MacArthur was temporarily sworn in. Bashford became governor within a week. (By John Osborne)

The modern version of the cartoon character "Uncle Sam" makes his first appearance in the New York City comic weekly Lantern.  He appears in a cartoon drawn by Frank Henry Temple Bellow illustrating "Uncle Sam" confronting "John Bull" in an international shipping dispute. (By John Osborne)