- 1498: Columbus landed at the mouth of the Orinoco River in
                  Venezuela.
                - 1559: Spanish explorer de Luna landed in Pensacola Bay, Fla.
                - 1813: The British warship Pelican captured the U.S. brigantine
                  Argus.
                - 1820: The first U.S. eye hospital, the New York Eye Infirmary,
                  opened in New York City.
                - 1848: The Oregon Territory was established.
                - 1873: "Field and Stream" magazine was first published.
                - 1900: An international force, including 2,000 U.S. Marines, entered
                  Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion.
                - 1925: Mount Rushmore was first proposed.
                - 1935: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security
                  Act into law.
                - 1942: Dwight D. Eisenhower was named the commander for the invasion
                  of North Africa.
                - 1945: On V-J Day, Japan accepted a cease-fire, surrendering
                  unconditionally and ending World War II.
                - 1966: The first U.S. lunar orbiter began orbiting the Moon.
                - 1969: British troops entered Northern Ireland after a renewal of
                  ages-old Protestant-Catholic fighting.
                - 1973: The United States ended the secret bombing of Cambodia, which
                  also ended the U.S. military role in southeast Asia.
                - 1980: In the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, 17,000 workers went
                  on strike, which set the basis for the formation of the Solidarity
                  labor movement.
                - 1997: Convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was sentenced
                  to death for his part in the 1995 explosion that killed 168 people.

                *Happy Birthday*
                ----------------
                - Halle Berry, 30, actress, Miss World USA 1986, "Queen," "Boomerang"
                - Dash Crofts, 58, singer, of Seals & Crofts
                - David Crosby, 57, singer, Crosby, Stills, & Nash
                - Earvin "Magic" Johnson, 39, former NBA guard/TV personality/ AIDS
                  spokesman
                - Gary Larson, 47, cartoonist, "The Far Side"
                - Steve Martin, 53, comedian/actor
                - Deborah Meyer, 46, Olympic swimmer, three-time medallist
                - Susan Olsen, 37, actress, "The Brady Bunch's" Cindy Brady
                - Susan Saint James, 52, actress,
                - Danielle Steel, 51, novelist
                - Wim Wenders, 53, German film director "Wings of Desire"