45 BC: The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time by edict of Roman dictator Julius Caesar

1758: The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature establishes the starting point for standardized species names across the animal kingdom, based on the binomial nomenclature in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus

1863: Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation to free enslaved people in Confederate states

1892: Ellis Island opens as a US immigration inspection station and becomes the gateway to the United States for more than 12 million people

1896: German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen announces his discovery of X-rays

1958: The European Economic Community comes into effect, better known as the European Common Market

Source:  Onthisday.com