1493 – Columbus leaves the new world and sets sail for Spain on his 1st trip
1547 – Ivan the Terrible was crowned Czar of Russia.
1581 – English parliament passes laws against Catholicism
1756 – Britain & Prussia sign Treaty of Westminster
1761 – The British capture Pondicherry, India, from the French.
1868 – Refrigerator car patented by William Davis, a fish dealer in Detroit
1920 – 1st assembly of the League of Nations (Paris)
1925 – In the aftermath of Lenin’s death, Stalin and Trotsky battle for leadership; today, Trotsky resigns as chairman of the Russian Revolutionary Military Council
1950 – Belgium, Luxembourg & Netherlands recognize Israel
1979 – The Shah of Iran and his family fled Iran for Egypt.
1982 – Britain and the Vatican resumed full diplomatic relations after a break of over 400 years.
1991 – The White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm. The operation was designed to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
2002 – The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the remaining members of the Taliban.
2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry
2006 – Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia’s new president. She becomes Africa’s first female elected head of state
