660 BC: Traditional date for the founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu

1858: First vision of the Virgin Mary to 14-year-old Bernadette of Lourdes, France

1929: Vatican City, the world’s smallest country, becomes an enclave of Rome

1945: Declaration of Liberated Europe is signed at the Yalta Conference by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, declaring that liberated nations are to establish democratic governments through free elections

1975: Margaret Thatcher defeats Edward Heath for leadership of the British Conservative Party

1990: Nelson Mandela is released after 27 years of imprisonment in South Africa

2011: Egyptian Revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 18 days of protests during the Arab Spring

2013: Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation effective February 28, becoming the first pope to resign since 1415

Source: Onthisday.com