1494 - Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus ( 1451 1— May 20, 1506) was an explorer and trader who crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the Americas in 1492 under the flag of Castilian Spain. He believed that the earth was a relatively small sphere, and argued that a ship cou lands in JamaicaThis article is about the country. For others uses, see Jamaica (disambiguation). Jamaica is a country in the Caribbean Sea, located south of Cuba and to the west of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated. Jamaica ( In Detail).
1626Events September 30 Nurhaci , chieftain of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing Dynasty dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji. Spanish establish a trading colony on Taiwan. Peter Minuit, director of the New Netherland colony, begins a policy of "pur - DutchDutch redirects here. For other uses, see Dutch (disambiguation). The Netherlands ( Dutch: Nederland is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a constitutional monarchy. It is located in northwestern Europe and borders the North Sea, Belgium explorer Peter MinuitPeter Minuit ( 1580 1638), born in Wesel, Duchy of Cleves (present-day Germany), was the first general director of the Dutch colony of New Netherland. He is most famous for the purchase of the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans (Algonkins), on arrives in New NetherlandNew Netherland ( Dutch Nieuw-Nederland Latin: Nova Belgica was the territory claimed by the Netherlands on the eastern coast of North America in the 17th century. New Netherland was part of the Dutch colonization of the Americas. The coast was previously (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
1675Events January 5 The Battle of Turckeim August 10 Building of the Royal Greenwich Observatory began November 11 Guru Gobind Singh becomes the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs. Cassini discovers Saturn's Cassini Division Battle of Fehrbellin Births March 31 Pope Be - King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Greenwich Observatory .
1989 - Iran-Contra Affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and was acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions, however, were later overturned on appeal.
1999 - Several tornadoes hit the Midwestern part of the United States during the night killing at least 45 people.
1999 - In California, Manuel Babbitt is executed for the 1980 murder of Leah Schendel . While on death row Babbitt was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries he received in the Vietnam War.
2002 - An EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 crashes in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria shortly after takeoff killing more than 148 people.