| | 1789 | George Washington inaugurated as 1st president of the United States. |
| | 1798 | Department of the Navy established. |
| | 1803 | U.S. more than doubles its size through the Louisiana Purchase. |
| | 1868 | Battle of Magdala. First campaign where British used breech-loading rifles. |
| | 1940 | Japan joins Axis powers. |
| | 1945 | Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his bunker in Berlin. |
| | 1904 | Japanese torpedo squadron attacked and sank Russian battleship Petropavlovsk. |