- 1792 – Merchant sea-captain Robert Gray first entered the Columbia River, the largest river flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America.
- 1812 – British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons.
- 1918 – The Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus was established, with Tapa Tchermoeff (pictured) as the first prime minister.
- 1949 – Siam was officially renamed Thailand.
- 1960 – Mossad agents captured Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi leader and fugitive war criminal hiding in Argentina.
