The first train passenger service began.
Until this day, trains had only been used to transport goods.
Source
West Virginia became the first state to impose a sales tax.
The Kilauea volcano on Big Island in Hawaii began to erupt.
The Spider-Man film starring Tobey Maguire premiered.
The sixth major fire in San Francisco occurred.
The first-ever 'spam' email was sent out to every ARPANET address on the US west coast.
