1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake fought his last battle when he destroyed the Spanish fleet in Santa Cruz Bay.

1689 – The siege of Londonderry began. Supporters of James II attacked the city.

1775 – American troops began the siege of British-held Boston.

1792 – France declared war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia. It was the start of the French Revolutionary wars.

1809 – Napoleon defeated Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria.

1879 – First mobile home (horse drawn) was used in a journey from London to Cyprus.

1902 – Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.

1919 – The Polish Army captured Vilno, Lithuania from the Soviets.

1945 – Soviet troops began their attack on Berlin.

1945 – During World War II, Allied forces took control of the German cities of Nuremberg and Stuttgart.

1953 – Operation Little Switch began in Korea. It was the exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war. Thirty Americans were freed.

1967 – U.S. planes bombed Haiphong for first time during the Vietnam War.
1972 – The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.
1984 – Britain announced that its administration of Hong Kong would cease in 1997.
1988 – The U.S. Air Forces’ Stealth (B-2 bomber) was officially unveiled.
1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev became the first Soviet head of state to visit South Korea.