| 296 | St. Gaius ends his reign as Catholic Pope. | |
| 536 | St. Agapitus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope. | |
| 1500 | Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovers Brazil. | |
| 1509 | Henry VIII ascends to the throne of England upon the death of his father, Henry VII. | |
| 1529 | Spain and Portugal divide the eastern hemisphere in the Treaty of Saragossa. | |
| 1745 | The Peace of Fussen is signed. | |
| 1792 | President George Washington proclaims American neutrality in the war in Europe. | |
| 1861 | Robert E. Lee is named commander of Virginia forces. | |
| 1889 | The Oklahoma land rush officially starts at noon as thousands of Americans race for new, unclaimed land. | |
| 1898 | In the first action of the Spanish-American War, the USS Nashville, takes on a Spanish ship. | |
| 1915 | At the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans use poison gas for the first time. | |
| 1918 | British naval forces attempt to sink block-ships in the German U-boat bases at the Battle of Zeebrugge. | |
| 1931 | Egypt signs treaty of friendship with Iraq. | |
| 1944 | Allies launch major attack against the Japanese in Hollandia, New Guinea. | |
| 1954 | The Senate Army-McCarthy hearings begin. They are broadcast on television. | |
| 1955 | Congress orders all U.S. coins to bear the motto “In God We Trust.” | |
| 1976 | Barbara Walters becomes the first female nightly news anchor on network television. | |
| 1995 | In Africa, Rwandan troops kill thousands of Hutu refugees in Kibeho. |
