1492Christopher Columbus notes 1st recorded reference to tobacco

1533Francisco Pizarro arrives at Cuzco

1577Sir Francis Drake aboard Pelican travels from Chile to Washington

1620Myles Standish leads 16 men in a foot exploration of the northern portion of Cape Cod

1720Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and John Rackham are captured by Capt. Jonathan Barnet and brought to Spanish Town, Jamaica, for trial

1835Charles Darwin reaches Tahiti on board HMS Beagle

1864Union Major General Sherman leaves Atlanta on the "March to the Sea"

1899Morning Post reporter Winston Churchill captured by Boers in Natal

1901james j jeffries TKOs Gus Ruhlin in 6 for heavyweight boxing title in San Francisco

1916William George Barker, flying very low over the Ancre River, spots a large concentration of German troops massing for a counter-attack on Beaumont Hamel, and sends an emergency Zone Call brought to bear all available artillery fire in the area onto the specified target. The force of some 4,000 German infantry was effectively broken up, and Barker is awarded the Military Cross

1939FDR lays cornerstone of Jefferson Memorial in Wash DC

1946Ted Williams is picked as AL MVP

1947Bradman scores his 100th 100, 172 v Indians at the SCG

1948Mackenzie King retires after spending 22 years as the Prime Minister of Canada

1948Louis St. Laurent is sworn in as the 12th Prime Minister of Canada

1956Elvis Presley's 1st film "Love Me Tender" premieres in NYC

1959Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith murder four members of the Clutter Family at their farm outside Holcomb, Kansas (subject of Truman Capote book In Cold Blood).

1960Elgin Baylor of NBA LA Lakers scores 71 points vs NY Knicks

1961Roger Maris is voted AL MVP

1964Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA San Antonio Civitan Golf Open

1964Mickey Wright shoots a 62, lowest golf score for a woman pro

1967Boston's Carl Yastrzemski wins AL MVP

1969Janis Joplin, accused of vulgar & indicent language in Tampa, Fla

1974Ringo Starr releases "Goodnight Vienna" & "Only You" in UK

1977Pres Jimmy Carter welcomes Shah of Iran

1979A package from the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski begins smoking in the cargo hold of a flight from Chicago to Washington, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.

1980Pope John Paul II began 5 day visit to West Germany

198375th hat trick in Islander history-Mike Bossy