1421 ― Zuider Zee floods 72 villages, killing an estimated 10,000 in Netherlands
1803 ― Battle of Vertieres: Haitians defeat French
1820 ― U.S. Navy Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer discovers Antarctica
1865 ― Mark Twain publishes "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
1905 ― Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King Haakon VII of Norway
1909 ― U.S. invades Nicaragua, later overthrows President Zelaya
1912 ― Albania declares independence from Turkey
1918 ― Latvia declares independence from Russia
1928 ― Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse debuts in NY in "Steamboat Willie"
1929 ― Large quake in Atlantic breaks Transatlantic cable in 28 places
1936 ― Germany, Italy recognize Spanish government of Francisco Franco
1958 ― First true reservoir in Jerusalem opens
1964 ― J Edgar Hoover describes Martin Luther King as "most notorious liar"
1966 ― U.S. RC bishops do away with rule against eating meat on Fridays
1970 ― Russia lands self-propelled rover on the Moon
1976 ― Spain's parliament establishes democracy after 37 years of dictatorship