1519 – Ferdinand Magellan’s five ships set sail from Seville to circumnavigate the globe. Second in command Juan Sebastian Elcano will complete the expedition after Magellan’s death in the Philippines.
1776 – Word of the United States Declaration of Independence reaches London.
1776 – A committee of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson suggested the United States adopt “E Pluribus Unum” — “Out of many, one” — as the motto for its Great Seal.
1821 – Missouri is admitted as the 24th state.
1846 – The Smithsonian Institution is chartered by Congress after James Smithson donates $500,000.
1920 – Francisco “Pancho” Villa surrendered to Mexican authorities.
1948 – President Harry S. Truman signs the National security Act Amendment, replacing the Department of War with the Department of Defense.
1969 – A day after murdering Sharon Tate and four others, members of Charles Manson’s cult kill Leo and Rosemary LaBianca.
1977 – In Yonkers, New York, 24-year-old postal employee David Berkowitz is arrested in the “Son of Sam” murders.
1995 – Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are indicted for the Oklahoma City federal building bombing.
