Today:
1492 – Christopher Columbus sets sail from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic for the first time.
1620 – The Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth, England, aboard the Mayflower to settle in North America.
1803 – British scientist John Dalton presents the first list of atomic weights of chemical elements to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society.
1861 – American Civil War: Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant occupy Paducah, Kentucky, securing the area for the Union.
1885 – Eastern Rumelia proclaims its union with Bulgaria, sparking the Serbo-Bulgarian War.
1901 – President William McKinley is shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York (he dies on September 14).
1941 – Nazi Germany orders all Jews over the age of 6 in the Reich to wear the Star of David with the word “Jew” inscribed.
1944 – World War II: The city of Ypres in Belgium is liberated by Allied forces.
1991 – The Soviet Union officially recognizes the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
1997 – The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, is held in London and watched by millions worldwide.