165 years ago on this date in 1848, gold was discovered by James Wilson Marshall at Sutter's sawmill near Coloma, CA, on the South Fork of the American River, sparking the Gold Rush of 1849.
Also on this date, 70 years ago in 1943, President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill concluded a wartime conference in Casablanca, Morocco; also on the same day, Adolf Hitler ordered his Nazi troops at Stalingrad to fight to death.