The United States Naval Academy is founded in Annapolis, Maryland on the grounds of Fort Severn. Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft led the efforts to start the academy, which opened with 50 midshipmen and seven professors.
Vice President Spiro Agnew becomes the first vice president to resign because of criminal charges. In 1832, John C. Calhoun resigned the vice presidency to represent South Carolina in the U. S. Senate.
Robert G. Shaw born
United States Army Colonel Robert Gould Shaw is born in Boston. Shaw famously commanded the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry regiment, an all-black unit, during its 1863 assault on Battery Wagner in South Carolina, where he was killed in action.
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