On this date in . . .

1942: After first asking him to take a pay cut, the New York Yankees agreed to give Joe DiMaggio a $6,250 raise. In the previous season, Joltin’ Joe had hit in a record 56 consecutive games, batted .357, and driven in 125 runs, helping the Yankees win the pennant by 17 games.

1951: "Dennis the Menace," a comic by cartoonist Hank Ketcham, made its syndicated debut in 16 newspapers.

1974: "Wonder Woman" premiered on television, starring Lynda Carter. Wonder Woman’s secret identity was Diana Prince. The original comic book character was created by Charles Moulton, who also invented the lie detector.

1974: Singers John Lennon and Harry Nilsson were thrown out of the Troubadour in Los Angeles for heckling the Smothers Brothers.

1986: History's fattest cat died at age 10 in Cairns, Australia. The neutered male house cat named Himmy was 38 inches long and weighed 47 pounds.

1990: 153,000 snails were reported missing from a snail farm in Hebburn, England, apparently history's largest snail disappearance.

1992: Tammy Faye Bakker announced she would divorce her evangelist husband, Jim, who was in prison for swindling. The couple had been married 31 years.

1992: Hollywood stars Warren Beatty and Annette Bening were married.

1993: Golfer Anne Marie Palli set an LPGA record on the 9th hole by killing a flying duck with her 2nd shot. Both the duck and her ball fell into the water. Of course, it cost her a penalty.

1993: Janet Reno was sworn in as the nation's first female attorney general.

1994: The Church of England ordained its first women priests.

1996: Former Senator Bob Dole swept the seven Super Tuesday primaries, virtually locking up the Republican presidential nomination.

2002: In Leuven, Belgium, a cyclist beat a Ferrari in a 12-mile race through rush-hour traffic. Bert Meulemans, a local councilor, finished 15 minutes in front of the car. He drove along cycle paths while his motoring colleague struggled through congested streets. The councilor wanted to encourage cycling.

2002: In Houston, Andrea Yates was convicted of murdering her five children in the family bathtub. The verdict was later set aside because of false testimony by a prosecution witness.