The Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor.

Roman emperorHadrianAntoninus Pius

Odoacer surrenders Ravenna after a 3-year siege and agrees to a mediated peace with Theoderic the Great.

OdoacerRavennaSiegeTheoderic the Great

Four thousand defenders of Pilėnai commit mass suicide rather than be taken captive by the Teutonic Knights.

PilėnaiTeutonic Knights

François de Bassompierre, a French courtier, is arrested on Richelieu's orders.

François de BassompierreCardinal Richelieu

Colonel William Tate and his force of 1000-1500 soldiers surrender after the Last invasion of Britain.

William Tate (soldier)Battle of Fishguard

Battle of Olszynka Grochowska, part of Polish November Uprising against Russian Empire.

Battle of Olszynka GrochowskaNovember Uprising

Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for the Colt revolver.

Samuel ColtPatentColt Firearms

Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain in the Paulet Affair (1843).

Lord George PauletKingdom of HawaiiPaulet Affair (1843)

Provisional government in revolutionary France, by Louis Blanc's motion, guarantees workers' rights.

French Revolution of 1848Louis Blanc

A Peace conference opens in Paris after the Crimean War.

Congress of Paris (1856)Crimean War

Miners in Calaveras County, California, discover what is now called the Calaveras Skull - human remains that supposedly indicated that man, mastodons, and elephants had co-existed.

Calaveras County, CaliforniaCalaveras SkullMastodonElephant

Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress.

Hiram Rhodes RevelsRepublican Party (United States)MississippiUnited States SenateAfrican American

Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi's regency.

Guangxu EmperorQing dynastyEmpress Dowager Cixi

J. P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation.

J. P. MorganU.S. Steel

Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of LuxembourgGuillaume IV, Grand Duke of LuxembourgGrand Duke of LuxembourgLuxembourg

World War I: The Germans capture Fort Douaumont during the Battle of Verdun.

World War IFort DouaumontBattle of Verdun

Oregon places a one cent per U.S. gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax.

OregonGallonGasoline tax

Tbilisi, capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, is occupied by Bolshevist Russia.

TbilisiDemocratic Republic of GeorgiaSoviet invasion of GeorgiaRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, D.C. becomes the first holder of a broadcast license for television from the Federal Radio Commission.

Charles Jenkins LaboratoriesBroadcast licenseFederal Radio Commission

Adolf Hitler obtains German citizenship by naturalization, which allows him to run in the 1932 election for Reichspräsident.

Adolf HitlerNaturalizationReichspräsident

The USS Ranger is launched. It is the first US Navy ship to be designed from the start of construction as an aircraft carrier.

USS Ranger (CV-4)Aircraft carrier

The first of 2 1⁄2 million Anderson air raid shelters appeared in North London.

Anderson shelters

February strike: In occupied Amsterdam, a general strike is declared in response to increasing anti-Jewish measures instituted by the Nazis.

February strikeNetherlands in World War IIGeneral strikeNazi

World War II: Turkey declares war on Germany.

World War IITurkey

The formal abolition of Prussia is proclaimed by the Allied Control Council. The Prussian government had already been abolished in 1934 by the Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich.

Abolition of PrussiaAllied Control Council

The Communist Party takes control of government in Czechoslovakia and the period of the Third Republic ends.

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia1948 Czechoslovak coup d'étatCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovak Republic (1945-48)

The first Pan American Games were officially opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina by President Juan Perón.

Pan American GamesBuenos AiresJuan Perón

Gamal Abdel Nasser is made premier of Egypt.

Gamal Abdel NasserEgypt

In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union denounces the cult of personality of Joseph Stalin.

On the Cult of Personality and Its ConsequencesNikita KhrushchevSoviet UnionCult of personalityJoseph Stalin

North Korean Prime Minister Kim Il-sung calls for the removal of feudalistic land ownership aimed at turning all cooperative farms into state-run ones.

North KoreaKim Il-sungFeudalismCooperative