1318 - Berwick-upon-Tweed was captured by the Scottish from the English.
1826 - Samuel Morey patented the internal combustion engine.
1867 - Singapore became a British crown colony.
1873 - The British steamer RMS Atlantic sank off Nova Scotia, 547 people died.
1891 - The Wrigley Company was founded in Chicago, Illinois.
1918 - The Royal Air Force was created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
1924 - Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch". However, he spent only nine months in jail, during which time he wrote the book Mein Kampf. (Just shows you prison is no deterrent.)
1949 - The twenty-six counties of the Irish Free State became the Republic of Ireland.
1976 - Apple Computer was formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
1979 - Iran became an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.
1981 - Daylight saving time was introduced in the USSR.
2001 - Same-sex marriage became legal in the Netherlands, the first country to allow it.
2002 - The Netherlands legalized euthanasia, becoming the first nation in the world to do so.
2004 - Google introduced its Gmail product to the public. (The launch was met with skepticism on account of the launch date.)
2006 - The Serious Organised Crime Agency, dubbed the 'British FBI', was created in the United Kingdom.