1609: Galileo demonstrates his 1st telescope to Venetian lawmakers

1718: Hundreds of French colonists arrive in Louisiana; New Orleans founded

1768: Captain James Cook departs from Plymouth, England, on his first voyage on board the Endeavour, bound for the Pacific Ocean

1894: Japanese scientist Shibasaburo Kitasato discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet

1944: French General Charles de Gaulle walks the Champs Elysees in Paris after the liberation of the city from Nazi occupation

1990: UN security council authorizes military action against Iraq

1991: Linux is born when Linus Torvalds sends off an email announcing his project to create a new computer operating system

Source: Onthisday.com