630: Conquest of Mecca: Prophet Muhammad sets out with an army of 10,000 to capture Mecca

1599: Jacob van Neck’s fleet leaves Bantam, Java in modern-day Indonesia with 1 million pounds of pepper and cloves and a further half a ship full of nutmeg, mace and cinnamon

1838: First public demonstration of telegraph messages sent using dots and dashes at Speedwell Ironworks in Morristown, New Jersey, by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail

1879: Anglo-Zulu War begins as British Lieutenant General Lord Chelmsford invades Zululand in South Africa

1922: Insulin is first used on humans when Frederick Banting injects 14-year-old Canadian Leonard Thompson to treat his diabetes

1964: First government report by US Surgeon General Luther Terry warning that smoking may be hazardous

Source: Onthisday.com