1502 - Vasco da Gama returns to Calicut, India for the second time.
1534 - English Parliament passes Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the English church - a role formerly held by the Pope
1905 - "October Manifesto" Russian Tsar Nicholas II grants civil liberties
1957 - Soviet Union launches Sputnik II, carrying a dog named Laika
1979 - Richard Arrington, Jr. is elected the first African American mayor in Birmingham, Alabama
Birthdays
1960 - Diego Maradona, Buenos Aires, soccer player
625 - Boniface V ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1131 - Crowning of Louis VII the Young, King of France
1147 - Battle at Doryleum: Arabs beat Koenraad III's crusaders
1147 - Seljuk Turks defeat German crusaders under Conrad III at the Battle of Dorylaeum.
1241 - Goffredo Castiglioni elected as Pope Coelestinus IV
1492 - Columbus' fleet sites "Zandislands" (Ragged Island Range, Bahamas)
1492 - Christopher Columbus' ship Santa Maria lands at Dominican Republic
1747 - British fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hawke defeats the French at the second battle of Cape Finisterre.
1760 - George III ascends British throne
1760 - George III becomes King of Great Britain.
1854 - Charge of Light Brigade (Battle of Balaklava, Crimean War), 409 die
United Nations Day
World Development Information Day
1596 - Battle at Kerestes: Ottoman beat Austria-Hungary & Germany
1648 - Treaty of Westphalia ends 30 year war & Holy Roman Empire
1648 - Switzerland's independence recognized
1648 - The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War.
1795 - 3rd partition of Poland, between Austria, Prussia & Russia
1812 - Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow.
1851 - William Lassell discovers Ariel & Umbriel, satellites of Uranus
4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher
42 BC - Roman Republican civil wars: Second Battle of Philippi - Brutus's army is decisively defeated by Mark Antony and Octavian. Brutus commits suicide.
425 - Valentinian III is elevated as Roman Emperor, at the age of 6.
1086 - Battle of az-Zallaqah: Army of Yusuf ibn Tashfin defeats the forces of Castilian King Alfonso VI
1157 - The Battle of Grathe Heath ends the civil war in Denmark. King Sweyn III is killed and Valdemar I restores the country.
1520 - King Carlos I crowned, German emperor Charles V
1739 - War of Jenkins' Ear starts: British Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, reluctantly declares war on Spain.
1814 - 1st plastic surgery is performed (England)
1824 - 1st steam locomotive is introduced
1915 - 25,000 women march in NYC, demanding right to vote
1927 - Town of Netanya Israel founded by Nathan Strauss
1942 - 1st ships of invasion fleet to Morocco leave Norfolk
1942 - During WW II, Britain launches major offensive at El Alamein, Egypt
1942 - German units go through Red October-factory in Stalingrad
1944 - Gulf of Leyte battle begin
1953 - France grants Laos' sovereignty
1953 - German Federal Republic applies to NATO
1953 - WTRF TV channel 7 in Wheeling-Steubenville, WV (CBS) 1st broadcast
1954 - Britain, England, France & USSR agree to end occupation of Germany
1954 - German Federal Republic joins NATO
1954 - Pakistan governor-general Ghoelan Mohammed disbands parliament
1956 - 1st video recording on magnetic tape televised coast-to-coast
1959 - Chinese troops move into India, 17 die
1975 - Battle between Cuba & South Africa troops in Angola
1980 - Soviet PM Nikolai Tichonov succeeds Alexei Kosygin, due to illness
1981 - US national debt hits $1 trillion
1989 - Hungary proclaims itself a republic & declares communist rule ended
1997 - Dow Jones drops 186.88 pts
1998 - Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a "land for peace" agreement.
