Today:
1513: Juan Ponce de Leon becomes the first known European to set foot in Florida.
1792: The United States Congress passes the Coinage Act, establishing the United States Mint.
1800: Ludwig van Beethoven conducts the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.
1805: Author Hans Christian Andersen, known for fairy tales like The Little Mermaid, is born in Denmark.
1865: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet evacuate Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War.
1902: The Electric Theatre, the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles.
1917: President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress for a declaration of war against Germany to enter World War I.
1968: The science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick, premieres in Washington, D.C.
1982: Argentine forces invade the Falkland Islands, sparking the Falklands War with the United Kingdom.
2005: Pope John Paul II passes away at the age of 84 in the Vatican City.