1679 — Great panic occurs in Europe over the close approach of a comet
1783 — Washington orders the Continental Army disbanded
1839 — First opium war-2 British frigates engage several Chinese junks
1885 — Tacoma vigilantes drive out Chinese, burn their homes & businesses
1900 — First national automobile show opens at Madison Square Garden (NYC)
1918 — Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolves
1918 — Poland proclaims independence from Russia after WW I
1930 — Bank of Italy becomes Bank of America
1953 — "Sacrifice fly" reactivated in baseball (1939)
1955 — First virus crystallized (announced)
1978 — U.K. grants Dominica independence (National Day)
1986 — President Machel killed in air crash in Mozambique
1988 — Soviet Union agrees to allow teaching of Hebrew
1992 — Bill Clinton elected U.S. President