4004 BC: According to 17th century divine James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, and Dr. John Lightfoot of Cambridge, the world was created on this day, a Sunday, at 9 a.m.
1641: A rebellion takes place in Ireland. Catholics, under Phelim O’Neill, rise against the Protestants and massacre men, women and children to the number of 40,000.
1694: American colonial forces led by Sir William Phips, fail in their attempt to seize Quebec.
1707: The first Parliament of Great Britain meets.
1783: Virginia emancipates slaves who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War.
1861: President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C. for all military-related cases.
1918: President Woodrow Wilson feels satisfied that the Germans are accepting his armistice terms and agrees to transmit their request for an armistice to the Allies.
1929: The first transcontinental air service begins from New York to Los Angeles.
1954: In Paris, an agreement is signed providing for West German sovereignty and permitting West Germany to rearm and enter NATO and the Western European Union.
1998: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a “land for peace” agreement.
2002: Chechen terrorists take 700 theater-goers hostage at the House of Culture theater in Moscow.
2004: An earthquake in Japan kills 35, injures 2,200, and leaves 85,000 homeless or displaced.