Today:
202 BC: Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, marking the beginning of the Han dynasty’s four-century rule.
1525: Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the orders of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés.
1844: A large gun explodes on the steam warship USS Princeton during a cruise on the Potomac River, killing several high-ranking U.S. officials, including the Secretary of State.
1922: The United Kingdom formally ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
1928: Indian physicist C. V. Raman discovers the Raman Effect, a breakthrough in light scattering that later earns him the Nobel Prize.
1935: Nylon is first produced by Wallace Carothers at the DuPont Experimental Station in Delaware.
1953: Scientists James Watson and Francis Crick announce they have discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.
1983: The final episode of the television series MAS*H airs in the United States, becoming one of the most-watched broadcasts in history.
1991: The first Gulf War ends as a ceasefire takes effect following the liberation of Kuwait.
2013: Pope Benedict XVI officially resigns, becoming the first leader of the Catholic Church to do so voluntarily since 1415.