In 1859, the first successful oil well in the United States was drilled near Titusville, Pa.

In 1883, the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurred on Krakatoa, a small, uninhabited island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia.

In 1928, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes, was signed by 15 nations in Paris. World War II began 11 years later.

In 1939, Adolf Hitler served notice on England and France that Germany wanted Danzig and the Polish Corridor.

In 1977, IRA terrorists killed Lord Louis Mountbatten, a cousin of the queen, by blowing up his boat. It was the IRA's first attack on the royal family.

In 1985, U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger canceled the Army's $1.8 billion "Sergeant York" weapon system, declaring it ineffective.

In 1991, the Soviet republic of Moldavia declared its independence and the European Community recognized Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as independent nations.

In 1992, Serbian leaders at the Yugoslav peace conference pledged to close the prisoner-of-war camps, end "ethnic cleansing" and work toward peace.

Also in 1992, Canada's Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a law that would have prevented a man from claiming the Nazi Holocaust was a hoax.

In 1996, Israel approved new development in the West Bank.

In 1999, two Russian cosmonauts and a French astronaut left Mir to return to Earth, leaving the orbiting Russian space station unmanned for the first time in 13 years.

In 2003, the United States and North Korea met privately in Beijing during the six-nation talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program. Diplomats said there was no breakthrough in the talks.

In 2004, Russian authorities said traces of explosives were found in the wreckage of two airliners that crashed within minutes of each other after takeoff earlier in the week in Moscow, heightening suspicion of terrorism. A total of 89 people died in the crashes.

In 2005, the Gulf Coast between New Orleans and the Florida Panhandle was battening down for the second landfall of Hurricane Katrina, now a Category 3 storm and strengthening.

Also in 2005, a top Iraqi legislator said an agreement "in principle" had been reached among Iraqi leaders regarding three disputed issues in the country's draft constitution.