1490-First dated edition of Maimonides' "Mishneh Torah" is published, a code of Jewish religious law
1775-Patrick Henry proclaims "Give me liberty or give me death" in a speech encouraging Virginia troops to join the American Revolutionary War
1919-8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party re-establishes a five-member Politburo, which becomes the center of political power in the Soviet Union. Original members are Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev, and Nikolai Krestinsky
1933-German Reichstag hastily passes the Enabling Act and President Paul von Hindenburg signs it the same day, granting Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers
1945-Battle of Okinawa: U.S .Navy ships bomb the Japanese island of Okinawa in preparation for the Allied invasion; the largest battle of the Pacific War in World War II
2019-Syrian Democratic Forces announce that the last Islamic State territory has been retaken, raising flags in Baghuz, Syria, and ending the five-year Islamic State "caliphate"