| 1521 | | Ferdinand Magellan discovers Guam. |
| 1820 | | The Missouri Compromise is enacted by Congress and signed by President James Monroe, providing for the admission of Missouri into the Union as a slave state, but prohibits slavery in the rest of the northern Louisiana Purchase territory. |
| 1836 | | After fighting for 13 days, the Alamo falls. |
| 1853 | | Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata premieres in Venice. |
| 1857 | | The Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision holds that blacks cannot be citizens. |
| 1860 | | While campaigning for the presidency, Abraham Lincoln makes a speech defending the right to strike. |
| 1884 | | Over 100 suffragists, led by Susan B. Anthony, present President Chester A. Arthur with a demand that he voice support for female suffrage. |
| 1888 | |
Louisa May Alcott dies just hours after the
burial of her father. |
| 1899 | | Aspirin is patented following Felix Hoffman's discoveries about the properties of acetylsalicylic acid. |
| 1901 | | A would-be assassin tries to kill Wilhelm II of Germany in Bremen. |
| 1914 | | German Prince Wilhelm de Wied is crowned as King of Albania. |
| 1916 | | The Allies recapture Fort Douamont in France during the Battle of Verdun. |
| 1928 | | A Communist attack on Beijing results in 3,000 dead and 50,000 fleeing to Swatow. |
| 1939 | | In Spain, Jose Miaja takes over Madrid government after a military coup and vows to seek "peace with honor." |
| 1943 | | British RAF fliers bomb Essen and the Krupp arms works in the Ruhr, Germany. |
| 1945 | | Cologne, Germany, falls to General Courtney Hodges' First Army. |
| 1947 | | Winston Churchill opposes the withdrawal of troops from India. |
| 1948 | | During talks in Berlin, the Western powers agree to internationalize the Ruhr region. |
| 1953 | | Upon Josef Stalin's death, Georgi Malenkov is named Soviet premier. |
| 1960 | | The Swiss grant women the right to vote in municipal elections. |
| 1965 | | The United States announces that it will send 3,500 troops to Vietnam. |
| 1967 | | President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his plan to establish a draft lottery. |
| 1973 | | President Richard Nixon imposes price controls on oil and gas. |
| 1975 | | Iran and Iraq announce that they have settled the border dispute. |
| 1980 | | Islamic militants in Tehran say that they will turn over the American hostages to the Revolutionary Council. |
| 1981 | | President Reagan announces plans to cut 37,000 federal jobs. |
| 1987 | | The British ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes in the Channel off the coast of Belgium. At least 26 are dead. |
|
