Today:
1521 – Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet arrived at Guam, marking the first European landing on the island.
1788 – The First Fleet, carrying British convicts, arrived at Norfolk Island to establish a penal colony.
1836 – The Battle of the Alamo ended when Mexican forces, led by General Antonio López de Santa Anna, stormed the mission and killed most of the Texan defenders.
1857 – The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its decision in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case, ruling that African Americans were not U.S. citizens and had no right to sue in federal court.
1899 – The German pharmaceutical company Bayer registered “Aspirin” as a trademark.
1912 – The Oreo cookie was introduced by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) in the United States.
1943 – The Battle of Medenine took place in Tunisia during World War II, where British forces successfully repelled a German attack.
1957 – Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from British colonial rule.
1967 – Stalin’s daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva, defected to the United States, causing an international political stir.
1987 – The ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized near Zeebrugge, Belgium, killing 193 people.