Today:
1607 – English settlers established the first permanent English colony in America at Jamestown, Virginia.
1619 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was executed for treason in The Hague.
1787 – Captain Arthur Phillip left England with the First Fleet, carrying convicts to Australia.
1846 – The United States declared war on Mexico, starting the Mexican–American War.
1861 – Queen Victoria declared the United Kingdom’s neutrality in the American Civil War.
1888 – Brazil abolished slavery with the signing of the Lei Áurea (Golden Law).
1917 – The first apparition of the Virgin Mary was reported in Fátima, Portugal.
1940 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered his first speech to Parliament: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
1981 – Pope John Paul II survived an assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City.
1995 – Alison Hargreaves became the first woman to climb Mount Everest solo and without oxygen.