1597: First Dutch East India Company ships return from the Far East

1619: Slavery begins in mainland British colonies of North America when the first known African captives (approximately 20) land at Point Comfort, Virginia, before being sold or traded into servitude [1]

1741: Alaska is first sighted by a Russian expedition led by Danish explorer Vitus Bering

1905: Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen forms the first chapter of Tongmenghui, a union of secret societies determined to bring down the Qing dynasty

1968: 250,000 Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia at night to suppress the Prague Spring

1993: Oslo Peace Accords are signed after secret negotiations in Norway, and a public ceremony in Washington, D.C. is held the next month

Source: Onthisday.com