1. In 374, Comet 1P/374 E1 (Halley) approaches within 0.0884 aus of Earth.

2. In 527, Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co - ruler and successor to the throne.

3. In 705, Greek Pope John VII is chosen as successor to John VI.

4. In 1064, the body of Bishop Eleutherius of Blandain is moved to Doornik.

5. In 1318, Berwick - upon - Tweed is captured by the Scottish from the English.

6. In 1340, Niels Ebbesen kills Gerhard III of Holstein in his bedroom, ending the 1332 - 1340 interregnum in Denmark.

7. In 1504, the English guilds/corporation goes under state control.

8. In 1515, a Portuguese fleet under Afonso de Albuquerque captures the Persian fortress of Hormuz, renaming it the Fort of Our Lady of the Conception.

9. In 1564, English playwright and poet William Shakespeare is born.

10. In 1572, the Watergeuzen capture Brielle from the Spaniards during the Eighty Years' War, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.

11. In 1581, the Portuguese Cortes subjects himself to Philip II of Spain.

12. In 1663, Gemert fines unwed motherhood (50 - guilder penalty).

13. In 1693, Cotton Mather's four - day - old son dies, and witchcraft is blamed.

14. In 1724, Henry Pelham becomes English Minister of War.

15. In 1724, Jonathan Swift publishes "Drapier's Letters", a series of seven pamphlets against a privately minted copper coinage.

16. In 1748, the ruins of Pompeii are rediscovered by Spaniard Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre.

17. In 1776, Friedrich von Klinger's "Sturm und Drang" premieres in Leipzig.

18. In 1778, New Orleans businessman Oliver Pollock creates the "$" symbol.

19. In 1779, Northumbrian historian Robert Surtees is born in Durham.

20. In 1792, Gronings feminist Etta Palm demands women's right to divorce.

21. In 1803, French law rules on the use of intention.

22. In 1822, Italian composer Luigi Cherubini becomes director of the Conservatoire de Paris music college, holding the position for nearly 20 years.

23. In 1826, Samuel Morey is issued the first US patent for an internal - combustion engine, which he calls a "gas or vapour engine".

24. In 1850, San Francisco County government is established.

25. In 1853, Cincinnati becomes the first US city to employ full - time professional firefighters.

26. In 1854, "Hard Times" begins serialization in Charles Dickens' magazine, "Household Words".

27. In 1857, Herman Melville publishes the novel "The Confidence - Man: His Masquerade" in New York.

28. In 1862, during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, there is the Battle of Woodstock, Virginia.

29. In 1863, the first wartime conscription law in the US goes into effect.

30. In 1865, the Battle of Five Forks takes place, where Union forces defeat Confederate forces in Virginia and capture an important railway supply line for General Robert E. Lee's army.

31. In 1866, the US Congress rejects a presidential veto, giving all equal rights in the US.

32. In 1867, blacks vote in a municipal election in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

33. In 1867, the International Exhibition opens in Paris.

34. In 1867, Singapore, Penang, and Malacca become British crown colonies.

35. In 1868, Hampton Institute opens.

36. In 1871, a new constitution is adopted by the German Empire.

37. In 1872, the first edition of the "Standard" is published.

38. In 1873, the British White Star steamship Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, with 547 deaths.

39. In 1873, Mehmed Kemal's play "Vatan" premieres in Constantinople.

40. In 1881, there are anti - Jewish riots in Jerusalem.

41. In 1888, students from Rotterdam, Netherlands, establish a cricket club called Rotterdamsche Cricket & Football Club Sparta, which evolves into Sparta Rotterdam.

42. In 1889, the first dishwashing machine is marketed in Chicago.

43. In 1891, French painter Paul Gauguin leaves Marseille for Tahiti.

44. In 1891, the London - Paris telephone connection opens.

45. In 1899, NC Mutual opens its doors for business.

46. In 1900, the first edition of the Dutch newspaper "The People" is published.

47. In 1905, "SOS" is first adopted as a Morse distress signal (··· – – – ···) by the German government.

48. In 1918, the Henry Miller's theater opens at 124 W 43rd St NYC.

49. In 1918, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force is created from the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps.

50. In 1939, Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War when the last of the Republican forces surrender.