Today:
399 BC – The philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death by drinking hemlock in Athens.
590 – Pope Gregory I (later known as Gregory the Great) is elected Pope of the Catholic Church.
1493 – Christopher Columbus writes a letter describing his discoveries in the New World, which is widely circulated across Europe.
1764 – The city of St. Louis, Missouri, is founded by French fur traders Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau.
1898 – The USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana Harbor, Cuba, killing 260 crew members and contributing to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War.
1923 – Greece adopts the Gregorian calendar, switching from the Julian calendar.
1933 – Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate U.S. President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami, Florida; Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak is fatally wounded.
1942 – Singapore surrenders to Japanese forces during World War II, marking one of the worst defeats in British military history.
1965 – Canada officially adopts its new national flag featuring the red maple leaf.
2001 – The first draft of the complete human genome is published, marking a major milestone in genetics.