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An expedition of English colonists, including Captain John Smith, went ashore at Cape Henry, Virginia, to establish the first permanent English settlement in the New World named Jamestown.

Queen Anne of England knighted Isaac Newton at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Sybil Ludington, sometimes referred to as “the female Paul Revere,” rode her horse into the night through Putnam and Dutchess counties in New York to alert militiamen that British troops were sacking Danbury, Connecticut.

President-elect George Washington left Mount Vernon, Virginia, for New York for his inauguration.

Joseph Smith and five others organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fayette, New York.

A bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia became law.

The Battle of Shiloh began as the Confederates attacked Union forces in Tennessee during the Civil War. The Union forces rallied from almost near defeat to drive back the Confederate army.

John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln was surrounded by federal troops near Bowling Green, Virginia, and killed.

In the closing days of the Civil War, Union forces led by Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant defeated General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in the Battle of Sailor’s Creek.

Golf’s first recorded hole-in-one was scored by Tom Morris at Prestwick’s 8th hole in Scotland.

The first modern Olympic Games were formally opened in Athens, Greece.

American explorer Robert Edwin Peary became the first person to lead an expedition to the North Pole.

American aviator Harriet Quimbly became the first woman to fly across the English Channel, going from Dover, England, to nearby Calais, France, in 59 minutes.

Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia after years of exile.

Congress approved a declaration of war against Germany.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ordered a General Strike.

Hostess Twinkies was invented by bakery executive James Dewar.

The German Luftwaffe destroyed the Spanish town of Guernica.

Major League Baseball’s first opening day no-hitter took place as Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians defeated the Chicago White Sox, 1-0, at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.

A Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea torpedoed and sank the MV Goya, which Germany was using to transport civilian refugees and wounded soldiers; it’s estimated that up to 7,000 died.

During World War II, the Japanese warship Yamato and nine other vessels sailed on a suicide mission to attack the U.S. fleet of Okinawa.

Financier Bernard Baruch coined the term “cold war” in a speech in South Carolina.

A month after being criticized by newsman Edward R. Murrow on CBS’s “See it Now,” Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wisconsin, given the chance to respond on the program, charged that Edward R. Murrow had, in the past, “engaged in propaganda for communist causes.”

Martin Luther King wrote his famous letter from the Birmingham Jail, also known as The Negro is Your Brother. The letter defended the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism.

The song “Louie, Louie” sung by the Kingsman, was released. From February 1964 to May of 1964, the FBI investigated the song for obscene material. They found none.

The African nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania.

The United States launched Intelsat 1, also known as the “Early Bird” communications satellite, into geosynchronous orbit.

The Oakland shootout between Black Panthers and police took place. Black Panther Bobby Hutton was killed and another Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver, was injured.

Facing heavy ground losses, American forces resumed the bombing of North Vietnam.

The worst nuclear accident in history occurred at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet Union as an explosion and fire sent radioactivity into the atmosphere. At least 31 Soviets died as a direct result.

Orel Hershiser ended his record 59 consecutive scoreless inning streak.

Voting began in South Africa’s first all-race elections, resulting in a victory for the African National Congress and the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as resident.

The Hutu president of Rwanda, Juvenal Habyrimana, and the president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, were killed when their plane was apparently shot down near the Rwandan capital. What followed was a 100-day genocide in Rwanda.

The first game at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, took place as the Colorado Rockies beat the New York Mets, 11-9.

Vermont Governor Howard Dean signed the nation’s first bill allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions.