1506 – The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica was laid.
1909 – Joan of Arc was beatified in Rome.
1783 – Fighting ceased in the American Revolution, eight years since it began.
1924 – Simon & Schuster published the first crossword puzzle book.
1945 – Over 1,000 allied bombers attacked the small island of Heligoland, Germany.
1955 - Albert Einstein died.
1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) came into being. Canaan Banana was the country's first President.
1983 – A suicide bomber destroyed the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 people.
1996 – At least 106 civilians were killed when the Israel Defense Forces shelled the UN compound at Quana, Lebanon, where more than 800 civilians had taken refuge.