1632     Baruch Spinoza (born), Dutch philosopher (died 1677) 1642     Abel Tasman becomes the first European to discover the island Van Diemen’s Land (later renamed Tasmania). 1713     Junípero Serra (born), Spanish missionary (died 1784) 1835     The Texas Provincial Government authorizes the creation of a horse-mounted police force called the Texas Rangers (which is now the Texas… Continue reading →

1499     Pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck is hanged for reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London. He invaded England in 1497, claiming to be the lost son of King Edward IV of England. 1644     John Milton publishes Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship. 1705     Thomas Birch (born), English historian (died 1766) 1859     Billy… Continue reading →

1718     Off the coast of North Carolina, British pirate Edward Teach (best known as “Blackbeard”) is killed in battle with a boarding party led by Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard (born 1680). 1744     Abigail Adams (born), American wife of John Adams, 2nd First Lady of the United States (died 1818) 1869     In Dumbarton, Scotland, the… Continue reading →

1620     Plymouth Colony settlers sign the Mayflower Compact. 1652     Jan Brożek (died), Polish mathematician, physician, and astronomer (born 1585) 1694     Voltaire (born), French philosopher (died 1778) 1695     Henry Purcell (died), English composer (born 1659) 1783     In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent, Marquis d’Arlandes, make the first untethered hot air balloon flight. 1787    … Continue reading →

1789     New Jersey becomes the first U.S. state to ratify the Bill of Rights. 1820     An 80-ton sperm whale attacks the Essex (a whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts) 2,000 miles from the western coast ofSouth America (Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby-Dick is in part inspired by this story). 1886     Karl von Frisch (born), Austrian zoologist,… Continue reading →