Today:
1. 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer, was killed by natives in the Philippines during his expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
2. 1565 – Cebu City, the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines, was founded by Miguel López de Legazpi.
3. 1773 – The British Parliament passed the Tea Act, a pivotal event that led to the Boston Tea Party and fueled the American Revolutionary War.
4. 1810 – Ludwig van Beethoven composed his famous piano piece, “Für Elise.”
5. 1865 – The steamboat Sultana, carrying freed Union prisoners of war, exploded on the Mississippi River, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1,800 passengers in one of the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history.
6. 1940 – Heinrich Himmler ordered the construction of the Auschwitz concentration camp, a significant and tragic event in World War II.
7. 1960 – Togo gained independence from France.
8. 1961 – Sierra Leone was granted independence from the United Kingdom.
9. 1992 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed, composed of the former Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro.
10. 1994 – South Africa held its first multiracial elections, which resulted in Nelson Mandela being elected as the first black president of South Africa, marking the end of apartheid.