Today:
1263 – The Battle of Largs is fought between the forces of Norway and Scotland, ending in a victory for the Scots.
1492 – King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain issue an order for Christopher Columbus to sail westward on his first voyage to the New World.
1835 – The Texas Revolution begins with the Battle of Gonzales between Texian settlers and Mexican troops.
1869 – Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, is born in Porbandar, India.
1889 – The first Pan American Conference is held in Washington, D.C., with representatives from 19 nations.
1919 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffers a severe stroke, leaving him partially incapacitated for the remainder of his presidency.
1937 – Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo orders the start of the Parsley Massacre, targeting Haitian immigrants.
1950 – The Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz is first published in American newspapers.
1968 – A student massacre occurs in Mexico City, just days before the opening of the 1968 Summer Olympics.
1990 – The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) is abolished, and its territories become part of the reunified Federal Republic of Germany.