1492-Columbus discovers Hispaniola (El Espanola/Haiti)
1776-Phi Beta Kappa, first American scholastic fraternity (William & Mary College), is founded
1879-First automatic telephone switching system patented
1950-Sikkim becomes a protectorate of India
1957-NYC becomes 1st city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing market (Fair Housing Practices Law)
1977-Egypt breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq & South Yemen
1981-France performs nuclear test
1982-USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1985-Great Britain performs nuclear test
1989-France TGV train reaches world record speed of 482.4 kph
1990-Salman Rushdie, author (ordered to death by Iran for blasphemy), appears in public for first time in 2 years
1991-New York Daily News files for protection under chapter 11
1993-Astronauts begin repair of Hubble telescope in space