0374-Halley's Comet approaches within 0.0884 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth

1748-Ruins of Pompeii found

1778-Oliver Pollock, a New Orleans businessman, creates "$" symbol

1793-Volcano Unsen in Japan erupts, killing about 53,000

1863-First wartime conscription law in U.S. goes into effect

1881-Anti-Jewish riots in Jerusalem

1891-London-Paris telephone connection opens

1931-Earthquake devastates Managua, Nicaragua, kills 2,000

1933-Nazi Germany begins persecution of Jews, boycotting Jewish businesses

1945-U.S. forces launch invasion of Okinawa during WWII

1952-Big Bang theory proposed in Physical Review by Alpher, Bethe and Gamow

1956-Violent clashes in Algeria, at least 380 killed

1966-“Cultural Revolution" begins in China

1973-Japan allows its citizens to own gold

1979-Iran proclaimed an Islamic Republic following fall of Shah