Today:
1614: Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, married English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia.
1621: The Mayflower departed from Plymouth, Massachusetts, to return to Great Britain.
1792: President George Washington exercised the first presidential veto in U.S. history on a bill concerning congressional redistricting.
1818: Chilean independence forces led by Jose de San Martin and Bernardo O’Higgins defeated Spanish forces at the Battle of Maipu.
1879: Chile officially declared war on Bolivia and Peru, beginning the War of the Pacific.
1887: Anne Sullivan spelled the word water into the hand of Helen Keller, helping her understand the connection between objects and words.
1951: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were sentenced to death in the United States for committing espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union.
1955: Sir Winston Churchill resigned as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom due to his declining health.
1984: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar surpassed Wilt Chamberlain to become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.
1994: Kurt Cobain, the lead singer and guitarist of the band Nirvana, died at his home in Seattle.