In 1451, Queen Isabella I, who sponsored the voyages of Christopher Columbus, was born in Madrigal, Spain.
In 1509, Henry VIII ascended the throne of England following the death of his father, Henry VII.
In 1864, Congress authorized the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins.
In 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon as thousands of homesteaders staked claims to land that had not been assigned by the federal government to Indian tribes. Claimants who jumped the gun were referred to as
"Sooners."
In 1898, the first shot of the Spanish-American War rang out when the U.S.S. Nashville captured a Spanish merchant ship off Key West, Fla.
In 1915, the German army used poison gas for the first time in World War I.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson opened the New York World's Fair.
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"There are two sides to every question and if you want to be popular you take both."
