Today:
1533 – Spanish conquistadors, led by Francisco Pizarro, arrive in Cusco, Peru.
1666 – Samuel Pepys reports on the first blood transfusion in England, between two dogs.
1770 – James Bruce discovers what he believes is the source of the Nile River.
1851 – Herman Melville’s novel *Moby-Dick* is published in the United States.
1889 – American journalist Nellie Bly begins her attempt to travel around the world in less than 80 days, inspired by Jules Verne’s novel.
1910 – The first airplane flight from the deck of a ship takes place as Eugene Burton Ely takes off from the USS Birmingham in Virginia.
1922 – The BBC begins radio service in the United Kingdom.
1969 – Apollo 12, the second crewed mission to the Moon, is launched by NASA.
1995 – The government of Argentina announces its complete digitization of national voter registration lists, a first for the country.
2001 – War in Afghanistan: Northern Alliance fighters take control of the capital, Kabul.