474: Zeno is crowned co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire with his son Leo II (age 6 or 7)

661: Rashidun Caliphate, then the largest empire in history, ends with the death of its leader, Ali. Succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate.

1595: William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” is thought to have been first performed; officially published early 1597

1850: Senator Henry Clay drafts the Compromise of 1850 to defuse tensions between slave states and free states over territories won during the Mexican–American War

1886: Karl Benz patents the “Benz Patent-Motorwagen” in Karlsruhe, Germany, the world’s first automobile with an internal combustion engine [1]

1892: The Coca-Cola Company is incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia

1896: American Emile Grubbe is the first doctor to use radiation treatment for breast cancer

2002: US President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address describes “regimes that sponsor terror” as an “Axis of Evil,” which includes Iraq, Iran, and North Korea

2025: US Army helicopter practicing night vision flying, crashes mid-air into commercial jet, killing all 67 passengers, including dozens of figure skaters, and crew members, over the Potomac River while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington D.C.

Source: Onthisday.com