1766 – The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act.
1850 – American Express is founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo.
1925 – The worst tornado in U.S. history hit eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and southern Indiana, killing 695 people, injuring thousands of others and causing $17 million in damage.
1942 – The War Relocation Authority is established in the United States to take Japanese Americans into custody.
1944 – The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy kills 26 people and causes thousands to flee their homes.
1965 – Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov becomes the first person to walk in space.
1968 – Congress takes U.S. currency off the gold standard.
1995 – Basketball superstar Michael Jordan announced he was returning to the NBA after a 17-month break.
2005 – Doctors removed the feeding tube keeping Terri Schiavo alive after a wide-ranging fight over the brain-damaged Florida woman’s care that involved President George W. Bush and Congress.
