| 1498 | Christopher Columbus leaves on his third voyage of exploration. | |
| 1546 | The Peace of Ardes ends the war between France and England. | |
| 1654 | Louis XIV is crowned king of France. | |
| 1712 | The Pennsylvania Assembly bans the importation of slaves. | |
| 1767 | Daniel Boone sights present-day Kentucky. | |
| 1775 | The United Colonies change their name to the United States. | |
| 1863 | Mexico City is captured by French troops. | |
| 1900 | The Boxer rebels cut the rail links between Peking and Tientsin in China. | |
| 1903 | Professor Pierre Curie reveals the discovery of Polonium. | |
| 1914 | The first vessel passes through the Panama Canal. | |
| 1932 | Over 7,000 war veterans march on Washington, D.C., demanding their bonus pay for service in World War I. | |
| 1942 | The Japanese invade Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Islands. | |
| 1968 | In Operation Swift Saber, U.S. Marines sweep an area 10 miles northwest of Da Nang in South Vietnam. | |
| 1981 | Israeli F-16 fighter-bombers destroy Iraq’s only nuclear reactor. | |
| 1994 | The Organization of African Unity formally admits South Africa as its fifty-third member. |
