1477: William Caxton produced "Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres," which was the first book to be printed in England.
1820: Captain Nathaniel Palmer became the first American to sight the continent of Antarctica.
1865: Samuel L. Clemens published "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" under the pen name "Mark Twain" in the New York "Saturday Press."
1883: The U.S. and Canada adopted a system of standard time zones.
1903: The U.S. and Panama signed a treaty that granted the U.S. rights to build the Panama Canal.
1916: Douglas Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force in World War I, called off the Battle of the Somme in France. The offensive began on July 1, 1916.
1928: The first successful sound-synchronized animated cartoon premiered in New York. It was Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie," starring Mickey Mouse.
Disney movies, music and books
1936: Germany and Italy recognized the Spanish government of Francisco Franco.
1942: "The Skin of Our Teeth," by Thornton Wilder opened on Broadway.
1951: Chuck Connors (Los Angeles Angels) became the first player to oppose the major league draft. Connors later became the star of the television show "The Rifleman."
1959: William Wyler's "Ben-Hur" premiered at Loew's Theater in New York City's Times Square.
1966: U.S. Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule against eating meat on Fridays.
1969: Apollo 12 astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. and Alan L. Bean landed on the lunar surface during the second manned mission to the moon.
1976: The parliament of Spain approved a bill that established a democracy after 37 years of dictatorship.
1978: In Jonestown, Guyana, Reverend Jim Jones persuaded his followers to commit suicide by drinking a death potion. Some people were shot to death. 914 cult members were left dead including over 200 children.
1985: Joe Theismann (Washington Redskins) broke his leg after being hit by Lawrence Taylor (New York Giants). The injury ended Theismann's 12 year National Football League (NFL) career.
1987: The U.S. Congress issued the Iran-Contra Affair report. The report said that President Ronald Reagan bore "ultimate responsibility" for wrongdoing by his aides.
1987: 31 people died in a fire at King's Cross, London's busiest subway station.
1987: CBS Inc. announced it had agreed to sell its record division to Sony Corp. for about $2 billion.
1988: U.S. President Reagan signed major legislation provided the death penalty for drug traffickers who kill.
1991: Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon freed Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland.
1993: The U.S. House of Representatives joined the U.S. Senate in approving legislation aimed at protecting abortion facilities, staff and patients.
1993: American Airlines flight attendants went on strike. They ended their strike only 4 days later.
1993: Representatives from 21 South African political parties approved a new constitution.
1994: Outside a mosque in the Gaza Strip, 15 people were killed and more than 150 wounded when Palestinian police opened fire on rioting worshipers.
1997: The FBI officially pulled out of the probe into the TWA Flight 800 disaster. They said the explosion that destroyed the Boeing 747 was not caused by a criminal act. 230 people were killed.
1997: First Union Corp. announced its purchase of CoreStates Financial Corp. for $16.1 billion. To date it was the largest banking deal in U.S. history.
1999: 12 people were killed and 28 injured when a huge bonfire under construction collapsed at Texas A&M in College Station, TX.
2001: Nintendo released the GameCube home video game console in the United States.