- 1503 – Christopher Columbus and his crew became the first Europeans to visit the Cayman Islands.
- 1857 – The Sepoy Rebellion broke out in colonial India, threatening the rule of the British East India Company.
- 1869 – The First Transcontinental Railroad of North America was completed with a golden spike ceremony.
- 1924 – J. Edgar Hoover (pictured) became director of the U.S. Bureau of Investigation.
- 1940 – Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of the United Kingdom resigned and formally recommended Winston Churchill as his successor.
