Today:
1527: German and Spanish troops begin the Sack of Rome, which is widely considered the end of the High Renaissance in Italy.
1835: James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald.
1840: The Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive postage stamp, becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom.
1882: The United States Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act, which suspends Chinese immigration for ten years.
1889: The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
1915: Babe Ruth, playing for the Boston Red Sox, hits the first of his 714 career major league home runs.
1937: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed while attempting to dock in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 people.
1954: British athlete Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run a mile in under four minutes, clocking in at 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.
1994: Queen Elizabeth II and President François Mitterrand formally open the Channel Tunnel, linking England and France.
2004: The final episode of the popular American sitcom Friends airs on NBC, drawing an estimated 52 million viewers.