Today:
1485: Henry Tudor is crowned King Henry VII of England, establishing the Tudor dynasty.
1735: John Adams, the second U.S. President, is born in Braintree, Massachusetts.
1831: Nat Turner is arrested in Virginia for leading a slave rebellion.
1905: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia issues the October Manifesto, granting basic civil liberties.
1918: The Ottoman Empire signs the Armistice of Mudros with the Allies, ending its participation in World War I.
1938: Orson Welles’s radio adaptation of “The War of the Worlds” is broadcast, causing panic among some listeners.
1947: The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the foundation of the World Trade Organization, is signed in Geneva.
1961: The Soviet Union detonates the Tsar Bomba over Novaya Zemlya, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever tested.
1974: Muhammad Ali knocks out George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match in Zaire to regain the heavyweight title.
1995: Voters in Quebec narrowly defeat a referendum on seceding from Canada.