141 BC Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne of the Han Dynasty in China and rules for 54 years

1522 Martin Luther begins preaching his “Invocavit Sermons” in the German city of Wittenberg, reminding citizens to trust God’s word rather than violence and thus helping bring to a close the revolutionary stage of the Reformation

1776 Adam Smith publishes the influential economics book “The Wealth of Nations”

1918 Russian Bolshevik Party becomes the Communist Party

1933 US Congress is called into special session by FDR, beginning its “100 days”

1961 Soviet flight Sputnik 9 carries and returns from orbit a dog named Chernushka (Blackie), frogs and a guinea pig

Source: Onthisday.com