March 30 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1842, Dr. Crawford Long became the first physician to use anesthetic (ether) in surgery. In 1858, a U.S. patent was granted to Hymen Lipman for a pencil with an attached eraser. In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William Seward reached an agreement with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million in gold. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI In 1870, the 15th Amendment, granting African American men the right to vote, was adopted into the U.S.