The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Makes its Debut. The comedian was a correspondent for the Daily Show and the host of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central before he took over David Letterman as the host of The Late Show on CBS. The first show featured Presidential hopeful and former Governor of the state of Florida, Jeb Bush and actor George Clooney.

The republic of Macedonia Declares its Independence From Yugoslavia. The landlocked Balkan country became independent after a referendum for independence from Yugoslavia was approved by about 96% of the voting public.

Oprah Winfrey Show Airs For the First Time. The widely popular daytime talk show hosted and produced by Oprah Winfrey ran for 25 years and won over 45 Daytime Emmy Awards. The topic for the first episode of the show was titled “How to Marry the Man or Woman of Your Choice”.

President Ford Pardons Nixon. Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States, issued Proclamation 4311, which pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon for any crimes he may have committed in his role as the U.S. President. In August 1974, Nixon had resigned from the office of the President - the only President to do so in the history of the United States, after impeachment proceedings against him were started in the House of Representatives because of his connection to the Watergate Scandal. The pardon was controversial. Many experts believe that it was a contributing factor to Ford’s inability to get elected as President 2 years later.

Star Trek Makes its Television Debut. The popular science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry was about the adventures of the crew of starship USS Enterprise. The starship was commanded by Captain James T. Kirk, who was assisted by Science Officer Spock and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Leonard McCoy. The first episode of the series, which is now known as The Original Series (TOS), was called the Man Trap and aired on NBC.