Today:
1648: The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years’ War.
1861: The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed.
1901: Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
1929: “Black Thursday” occurs on the New York Stock Exchange, beginning the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
1931: The George Washington Bridge, connecting New York and New Jersey, is dedicated.
1940: The 40-hour workweek, part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, goes into effect in the United States.
1945: The charter of the United Nations formally enters into force.
1946: A camera mounted on a V-2 rocket takes the first photograph of Earth from outer space.
1964: Zambia gains independence from the United Kingdom.
2003: The Concorde supersonic jet makes its last commercial flight.