- 1492: Christopher Columbus discovered the Canary Islands.
                - 1508: Juan Ponce De Leon landed in Puerto Rico.
                - 1676: The first war between American colonists and the Indians
                  ended.
                - 1812: Dr. Joseph Lister became the first surgeon to use
                  disinfectant during surgery.
                - 1851: The first America's Cup was held; the U.S. schooner America
                  beat the British yacht Aurora. Isaac Singer patented a sewing
                  machine with a rocking treadle.
                - 1856: Anthony Fass patented the accordion.
                - 1867: Congress moved to impeach President Andrew Johnson after he
                  suspended Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.
                - 1877: Thomas Edison made the first sound recording.
                - 1898: Hawaii was annexed to the United States.
                - 1914: Great Britain declared war on Austria-Hungary.
                - 1915: "Of Human Bondage" by William Somerset Maugham was published.
                - 1927: "Wings," the only silent film to win an Oscar for best
                  picture, opened.
                - 1972: The last American troops left Vietnam.
                - 1981: IBM introduced the personal computer and Bill Gates' MS-DOS
                  operating system version 1.0.
                - 1982: Actor Henry Fonda died of heart failure at the age of 77.
                - 1985: The world's worst-ever air disaster occurred when a Japan
                  Air Lines Boeing 747 crashed into a mountain killing 520 of 524
                  people on board.

                *Happy Birthday*
                ----------------
                - William Goldman, 67, writer/screenwriter, "The Princess Bride"
                  "All the President's Men"
                - George Hamilton, 59, actor
                - Michael Kidd, 79, choreographer/ballet dancer, "Hello Dolly,"
                  "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"
                - Mark Knopfler, 49, guitarist, Dire Straits
                - Buck Owens, 69, country singer, "Hee Haw" host 1969-86
                - Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, 71, cellist/conductor
                - Pete Sampras, 27, tennis player
                - Dominique Swain, 18, actress, "Lolita"
                - Deborah Walley, 55, actress, '60s Beach bunny
                - Jane Wyatt, 86, actress, "Star Trek," "Father Knows Best"