753 BC – Today is the traditional date of the foundation of Rome.
1526 – Mongol Emperor Babur annihilated the Indian Army of Ibrahim Lodi.
1689 – William III and Mary II were crowned joint king and queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1789 – John Adams was sworn in as the first U.S. Vice President.
1836 – General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. This battle decided the independence of Texas.
1856 – The Mississippi River was crossed by a rail train for the first time (between Davenport, IA, and Rock Island, IL).
1898 – The Spanish-American War began.
1914 – U.S. Marines occupied Vera Cruz, Mexico. The troops stayed for six months.
1967 – In Athens, Army colonels took over the government and installed Constantine Kollias as premier.
1972 – Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke explored the surface of the moon.
1994 – Jackie Parker became the first woman to qualify to fly an F-16 combat plane.
1998 – Astronomers announced in Washington that they had discovered possible signs of a new family of planets orbiting a star 220 light-years away.
2003 – North and South Korea agreed to hold Cabinet-level talks the following week.
