1836 - Charles Haynes Haswell is commissioned as the first regularly appointed Engineer Officer. In Oct. 1844, he is promoted to Engineer in Chief of the Navy.
1943 - USS Taylor sinks Japanese submarine (RO 107), east of Kolombangara, Solomon Islands.
1988 - Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci III approves opening the Navy's Underwater Construction Teams, fleet oilers, ammunition ships and combat stores ships to women.
1990 - Cmdr. Rosemary Bryant Mariner becomes the first woman to command an operational aviation squadron, Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 34. She is one of the first women to become qualified as a Naval Aviator in 1974 and one of the first women to fly light attack aircraft. Mariner attained the rank of Captain before retiring in 1997.
2003 - USS Ronald Reagan is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk. The ninth in the Nimitz-class of nuclear-powered supercarriers, the ships motto is Peace through Strength, a phrase coined by President Reagan. The ship is homeported at NAS North Island Coronado, Calif.
Lt. Godfrey de Chevalier becomes the first pilot launched from a ship catapult, when his AB-3 flying boat is launched from the USS North Carolina.