Napoleon Bonaparte 1769
- 1877 - Thomas Edison wrote to the president of the Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh, PA. The letter stated that the word, "hello" would be a more appropriate greeting than "ahoy" when answering the telephone.
- 1914 - The Panama Canal was officially opened to commercial traffic as an American ship sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The first vessel to pass through the canal was the American cargo and passenger ship SS Ancon.
- 1939 - "The Wizard of Oz" premiered in Hollywood, CA. Judy Garland became famous for the movie's song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
- 1947 - India became independent from Britain and was divided into the countries of India and Pakistan. India had been under British about 200 years.
- 1961 - East German workers began construction of the Berlin Wall.
- 1971 - U.S. President Nixon announced a 90-day freeze on wages, rents and prices.
- 1997 - The U.S. Justice Department decided not to prosecute FBI officials in connection with the deadly 1992 Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho. The investigation dealt with an alleged cover-up.
