Today:
1146: Bernard of Clairvaux preaches a sermon at Vezelay, with King Louis VII in attendance, sparking the launch of the Second Crusade.
1492: Queen Isabella of Castile issues the Alhambra Decree, ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon unless they convert to Catholicism.
1854: Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.
1889: The Eiffel Tower is officially inaugurated in Paris during the Universal Exhibition, marked by Gustave Eiffel raising the French flag at the top.
1917: The United States takes formal possession of the Danish West Indies from Denmark for 25 million dollars, renaming them the U.S. Virgin Islands.
1918: Daylight Saving Time goes into effect in the United States for the first time following the passage of the Standard Time Act.
1930: The Motion Picture Production Code, known as the Hays Code, is instituted to establish strict moral guidelines for self-censorship in American film.
1949: Newfoundland officially joins the Canadian Confederation, becoming the tenth province of Canada.
1959: The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, crosses the border into India to seek political asylum after fleeing Tibet during the uprising against Chinese rule.
1991: Citizens of Georgia vote overwhelmingly in a referendum for independence from the Soviet Union.