1926 John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of a live television system

1949 Queen Juliana of the Netherlands signed the papers to grant independence to Indonesia

2003 The Spirit Rover was launched by NASA to start the Mars Exploration Rover mission

1917 President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany

1945 International Monetary Fund was formally established by 29 member countries

1807 Innovation of the steamboat

1903 Innovation of the aeroplane

1956 Dutch swimmer Cockie Gastelaars broke two decades' world record for 100m freestyle

1901 Guglielmo Marconi sent and received the first wireless message across the Atlantic Ocean

1964 United States President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law

1808 The slave trade became illegal when the United States enacted a law banning the importation of slaves

1814 Innovation of the steam locomotive (engine)

1994 Nelson Mandela sworn in as the first black president of South Africa

1996 Sri Lanka won the Cricket World Cup

1963 President John F. Kennedy signed the United States Equal Pay Act into law

1924 Astronomer Edwin Hubble formally announced that the Milky Way is just one of many galaxies in the universe