George Edgar Vincent is born in Rockford, Illinois. A sociologist and a graduate of Yale University, he served from 1911 to 1917 as the third president of the University of Minnesota and an "academic house-cleaner." His reforms during his energetic term brought the institution into the modern era of education in Minnesota.

During World War II, the surviving crew members of the US Army Air Corps bombing raid on Tokyo, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, gather in Red Wing. They are joined by Chinese villagers who had rescued some of the airmen after they crash landed or parachuted into the nearby sea, or China, after the attack. Organized by a Red Wing-area resident who had led an expedition to China in 1990 to try to recover remains of raid bombers, the reunion also honors Doolittle, who is unable to attend.

W. E. B. DuBois gives a lecture in St. Paul, sponsored by the local chapter of the NAACP.

Kandiyohi County is established, at first comprising only the southern half of its present area. In 1870, the county absorbed its northern neighbor, Monongalia County. Kandiyohi, a Dakota name for some lakes in the county, means "where the buffalo fish come."

Rebecca Rand, Minnesota's best-known brothel operator, pleads guilty in Ramsey County District Court to three prostitution-related felonies and agrees to turn her buildings over to authorities, as well as pay $200,000 to settle a civil-forfeiture suit. She observes, "I went through so many years without a pimp or anyone taking my money. . . Now the government decided to do that."

A pedestrian bridge connecting Fort Snelling to St. Paul is completed.

A treaty signed in Washington, D.C., establishes the White Earth Reservation for the Ojibwe, and the transfer of the Mississippi Ojibwe to the site begins June 14. The leader Bagone-giizhig (Hole-in-the-Day the Younger), wanting no "mixed bloods" on the reservation, tries to block their relocation.

Aaron Goodrich is appointed chief justice of Minnesota Territory. (See entry for November 28.)

Margaret Culkin (Banning) is born in Buffalo. She lived in Duluth for many years, authoring more than thirty books, including Mesabi and Country Club People.

Otter Tail, Becker, and Breckenridge Counties are formed. The first is named for the lake and river and is an English translation of the original Ojibwe name, probably for an otter-tail-shaped sandbar in the lake. Becker County honors George L. Becker, one of three representatives the new state of Minnesota had planned to send to Congress. When it was discovered that the state was permitted only two representatives, lots were drawn and Becker lost. Breckenridge County honors Vice President John C.