1788
The first European settlers in Australia, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, landed in present-day Sydney.

1802
Congress passed an act calling for a library to be established within the U.S. Capitol.

1837
Michigan became the 26th state.

1841
Britain formally occupied Hong Kong, which the Chinese had ceded to the British.

1861
Louisiana seceded from the Union.

1863
William Farmer died at Cassville, Georgia during the Civil War.

1870
Virginia rejoined the Union.

1911
The Richard Strauss opera “Der Rosenkavalier” premiered in Dresden, Germany.

1925
Actor Paul Newman was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

1940
Ronald Reagan marries actress Jane Wyman.

1942
The first American expeditionary force to go to Europe during World War II went ashore in Northern Ireland.

1950
India officially proclaimed itself a republic as Rajendra Prasad took the oath of office as president.

1960
National Football League team owners chose Pete Rozelle to be the new Commissioner, suceeding the late Bert Bell.

1962
The United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon, but the probe missed its target by some 22,000 miles.

1979
Former Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller died in New York at age 70.

1998
President Clinton forcefully denied having an affair with a White House intern, telling reporters, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”