218 BC: Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia – Hannibal’s Carthaginian army heavily defeat Roman forces on Italian soil

1271: Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China

1603: First fleet of the Dutch East India Company under Admiral Steven van der Haghen departs for the East-Indies

1642: Abel Tasman’s expedition is the first European voyage to reach New Zealand sailing into Wharewharangi Bay at the top of the South Island, making the first confirmed contact with Maori [1]

1917: The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, authorizing prohibition of alcohol, is approved by the US congress and sent to the states for ratification [1]

1957: World’s first full scale nuclear power plant, for peacetime use only, begins to generate electricity at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania

1979: Stuntman Stanley Barrett unofficially breaks the land speed record and the sound barrier in his three-wheeled vehicle the Budweiser Rocket (739.666 mph or Mach 1.01). The speed was never officially recorded and the attempt remains controversial.

2019: US House of Representatives votes to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power (230-197) and obstruction of Congress (229-198)

Source: Onthisday.com