- 1620 – William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts.
- 1826 – American settlers in Nacogdoches, Texas declare their independence from Mexico, starting the Fredonian Rebellion.
- 1864 – Union Gen. William T. Sherman completed his Civil War “march to the sea” across the South and arrived in Savannah, Ga.
- 1913 – The first crossword puzzle in an American newspaper appeared in the New York Sunday World.
- 1937 – Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated feature film, premiered in Los Angeles.
- 1968 – Apollo 8, the first manned voyage to orbit the moon, was launched.
- 1991 – 11 former Soviet republics declared an end to the Soviet Union.
