1493 - Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his first trip to the Americas.
1778 - Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island discovered by Captain Cook
1812 - 1st Russian settlement in California, Russian River
1820 - Maine becomes the 23rd U.S. state.
1848 - A revolution breaks out in Hungary. The Habsburg rulers are compelled to meet the demands of the Reform party.
1957 - Great Britain becomes the third nation to explode a nuclear bomb
1958 - USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test
1960 - National Observatory at Kitt Peak, Arizona dedicated
1998 - An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale hits southeastern Iran
1999 - Pluto again becomes outermost planet
2001 - The world's largest oil rig, located off Brazil and operated by Petrobras, suffers three explosions
World Consumer Rights Day
Buzzards day