Today in 1620, the Mayflower left Plymouth, England. With 102 pilgrims and a small crew on board, she arrived in Provincetown on November 11th. After spending some time exploring where to land and build, they decided – and on December 25th, 1620, they had finally decided upon Plymouth, beginning construction of their first buildings.
Today in 1666, after St Paul's Cathedral and much of the city had been burned down over four days, the Great Fire of London was finally extinguished.
Today in 1848, National Convention of Black Freeman met in Cleveland. It was presided over by Frederick Douglass.
Today in 1901, President McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
Today in 1975, then-18-year old Martina Navratilova sought political asylum from Czechoslovakia while in New York for the U.S. Open. After becoming an American citizen in 1981, she regained her Czech citizenship in March 2008. She has said that she will not renounce her U.S. citizenship, and that reclaiming Czech nationality was not politically motivated.
Today in 1995, the Senate Ethics Committee voted unanimously to recommend expulsion of Senator Bob Packwood, accused of sexual and official misconduct.
Today in 1995, Baltimore Orioles' shortstop Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's record by playing his 2,131st consecutive game.
Today in 1997, Britain officially bid farewell to Princess Diana with a funeral service at Westminster Abbey. Over 26-million American households had their televisions tuned into the funeral of Princess Diana, which aired early that morning in the United States.
Today in 2000,S. District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled that MP3.com had willfully violated copyrights and awarded Universal Music $118- and 250-million in damages.
Today in 2000, the U.N. Millennium Summit began in New York. It was the largest gathering of world leaders in history with more than 150 present.
Today in 2018, the World Surf League announced that from 2019 forward, there would be equal prize money for men and women across elite tour events – becoming the first US-based global sports league with gender pay parity.