Columbus claims Cuba for the Spanish crown (1492), and Traditional founding date of Amsterdam (1275). Born on this day: James Cook, Theodore Roosevelt and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Died: Akbar, Lise Meitner and Li Keqiang.
28 events, 68 births and 64 deaths on this date.
Columbus, on his first transatlantic voyage, reached Cuba, which he mistakenly believed was part of the Asian mainland. The claim helped launch Spanish colonisation across the islands and mainland that followed.
Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio · Public domainChristopher ColumbusHear the story in ChunksAccording to tradition, Amsterdam began this day as a settlement where the Amstel river was dammed to hold back floodwaters. The date is a legend rather than a documented event, and the town grew from a small fishing village into a major port.
William Penn, an English Quaker who championed religious freedom, founded the city in the Province of Pennsylvania. Later it served as the colonial capital and hosted the Continental Congress, which adopted the Declaration of Independence there in 1776.
Constantine the Great, emperor who became the first Roman ruler to convert to Christianity, is said to have experienced a vision of a cross. Historians debate whether it happened, but the story is often tied to his later support for the faith.
Jean-Christophe BENOIST · CC BY 2.5
In his speech opening Parliament, George III elaborated on his earlier declaration that the American colonies were in rebellion. The speech signalled that London would hold firm against the colonists as the conflict deepened.
Allan Ramsay · Public domain
Born in Jamaica Plain, Boston, she would become known for confessional poems such as Ariel and the semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. Her Collected Poems later won a Pulitzer Prize, awarded posthumously in 1982.
Giovanni Giovannetti/Grazia Neri · Public domain
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James Cook charted coastlines across the Pacific and Southern Oceans on three voyages, including the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand's main islands. He was killed in Hawaii after a dispute with Native Hawaiians.
Nathaniel Dance-Holland · Public domain
A sickly child with asthma, he built his body through punishing physical exertion and became the youngest man to take the US presidency, at 42. He is remembered for his Square Deal reforms, which targeted big corporations and railroads.
Adam Cuerden · Public domain
Brazilian politician and former metalworker who led the ABC strikes against the military dictatorship and helped found the Workers' Party. He has served as Brazil's president twice, first from 2003 to 2011 and again from 2023.
Palácio do Planalto from Brasilia, Brasil · CC BY 2.0
Akbar, also called Akbar the Great, ruled the Mughal Empire for nearly fifty years and extended it across much of the Indian subcontinent. He is remembered for also winning over Rajput rulers through court posts and marriage alliances.
1605 artist · Public domain
Austrian-Swedish physicist who helped work out nuclear fission, the process behind nuclear reactors and atomic bombs, despite being left out of the 1944 Nobel Prize. She fled Nazi Germany in 1938 and spent her later years in Stockholm and Britain.
Smithsonian Institution · Public domain
Li Keqiang was China's premier from 2013 to 2023, a trained economist who pushed the economy away from exports and toward domestic consumption. He died in Shanghai in October 2023, a few months after leaving office.
Office of the Press Secretary · Public domain
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