Scott Carpenter 1925 - One of NASA's original seven astronauts
- 1486 - Christopher Columbus convinced Queen Isabella to fund an expedition to the West Indies.
- 1707 - England, Wales and Scotland were united to form Great Britain.
- 1931 - The Empire State Building in New York was dedicated and opened. It was 102 stories tall and was the tallest building in the world at the time.
- 1937 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt signed an act of neutrality, keeping the United States out of World War II.
- 1948 - The People's Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was proclaimed.
- 1961 - Fidel Castro announced there would be no more elections in Cuba.
- 1981 - The Japanese government announced that it would limit passenger car exports to the United States over the next three years.
- 1986 - The Tass News Agency reported the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.
- 1992 - On the third day of the Los Angeles riots resulting from the Rodney King beating trial. King appeared in public to appeal for calm, he asked, "Can we all get along?"