Mayflower / India / Woodstock / The Wizard of Oz

-1057

King Macbeth of Scotland was killed by Malcolm Canmore, whose father, King Duncan I, was murdered by Macbeth 17 years earlier.

-1461

Last remnant of the Byzantine Empire, Trebizond, surrenders to Sultan Mehmed II. Emperor David is exiled and later murdered.

-1620

The Mayflower sailed from Southampton, England, with 102 Pilgrims on board.

-1900

Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi and her family flee Peking for Xi'an while foreign troops move through the capital to quell the Boxer Rebellion.

-1914

The Panama Canal, an American-built waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, was officially opened with the passage of the cargo and passenger vessel SS Ancon.

-1939

The Wizard of Oz, a musical fantasy film based on L. Frank Baum's novel premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

-1947

India gained independence from the United Kingdom and remained a dominion until 1950.

-1969

The Woodstock Festival opens at Max Yasgur's Dairy Farm in Bethel, New York, with performances by Richie Havens, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, and Joan Baez.

-1969

Francis Ford Coppola's epic Vietnam War movie Apocalypse Now has opened in theaters.

-1998

The Omagh bombing, the worst terrorist attack during the Troubles, killed 29 and injured 220.

-2021

When Taliban forces take over Kabul, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flees the country.