1492 - Pinta under Martín Alonso Pinzón separates from Columbus's fleet
1497 - Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama rounds Cape of Good Hope on way to first voyage from Europe to reach India
1573 - The Brazilian city of Niterói is founded.
1574 - Discovery of the Juan Fernández Islands off Chile.
1842 - Mount St Helens in Washington erupts
1943 – Lebanon gains independence from France.
