1492 – From the Spanish port of Palos, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sets said in command of three ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta and the Nina.
1914 – German and France declare war on each other.
1923 – Calvin Coolidge is sworn in as the 30th president of the U.S., hours after the death of Pres. Warren G. Harding. Coolidge was the son of a village storekeeper.
1949 – The NBA is born when the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League merge to form the National Basketball Association.
1958 – The U.S. nuclear submarine Nautilus accomplishes the first undersea voyage to the geographic North Pole, traveling nearly 1,000 miles under the Arctic ice cap.
1996 – “The Macarena” begins its reign atop the U.S. pop charts
