1990
Mandela finally freed
South African resistance leader, Nelson Mandela, was released from prison after more than 27 years.
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1805
Lewis and Clark's Shoshone guide Sacajawea gave birth to a son, Jean Baptiste.
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1809
Robert Fulton patented the steamboat.
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1858
Saint Bernadette of Lourdes first saw a vision of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, France, leading to the foundation of the shrine of Lourdes.
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1929
Lateran Treaty was signed, with Italy recognizing the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City.
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1945
Yalta Agreement signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Josef Stalin during World War II.
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1970
Japan became the fourth country to put a satellite into orbit.
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1979
Ayatollah Khomeini's followers seized control of the Iran government.
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1989
The Episcopal Church Boston diocese consecrated Barbara Harris as the church's first woman bishop.
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2011
As a result of the Arab Spring protests, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak announces his resignation and hands power of the country over to the military.
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2012
Pop star Whitney Houston died at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, the night before the annual Grammy Awards.
