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

1945 International Monetary Fund was formally established by 29 member countries

1932 Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City

1767 King Taksin was crowned King of Thailand (Siam)

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

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

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

1921 The Communist Party of China (CPC) was formed, and Chen Duxiu was elected its leader

1804 Haiti declared its independence from France

1997 The United Kingdom returned Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China

1903 Innovation of the aeroplane

1807 Innovation of the steamboat

1940 Winston Churchill became British Prime Minister, replacing Neville Chamberlain

1836 Spain recognized the independence of Mexico by signing the Santa María–Calatrava Treaty

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

1895 German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-Rays