1607 – Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in North America, was founded near the James River in Virginia.
1846 – The United States declares war on Mexico.
1880 – Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway.
1940 – Germany’s conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” speech to the House of Commons.
1958 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard Nixon’s car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
1985 – A Philadelphia police helicopter bombed the fortified house of a radical organization, MOVE, to end a 24-hour siege. Eleven people died and the ensuing fire destroyed 53 homes.
1989 – Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
1995 – Alison Hargreaves becomes the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.
