Today:
1. 180: Emperor Marcus Aurelius died in Vindobona (modern-day Vienna) during a military campaign against the Quadi, leading to the ascension of his son, Commodus, as emperor of Rome.
2. 461: Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is believed to have died on this date. It later became known as St. Patrick’s Day.
3. 1776: British forces evacuated Boston during the American Revolutionary War, following the successful siege of the city by American militia.
4. 1845: The rubber band was patented by Stephen Perry of London.
5. 1861: The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in Turin, with Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia declared as its king.
6. 1901: The iconic American author and humorist, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, published his novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in the United States.
7. 1941: The National Gallery of Art opened in Washington, D.C., United States.
8. 1948: Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), aimed at mutual defense against aggression.
9. 1969: Golda Meir became the first female Prime Minister of Israel, serving until 1974.
10. 1992: A suicide car bomb exploded at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 29 people and injuring hundreds.