Dutch transfer of Indonesian sovereignty
On this day in 1949, four years after nationalist revolutionary leader Sukarno had declared Indonesia's independence, formal sovereignty over the country was transferred from the Dutch to the United States of Indonesia.

Westminster Abbey opened
The original Westminster Abbey, located in London, was consecrated and opened this day in 1065 by Edward the Confessor and became the site of coronations and other ceremonies of national significance in England.

U.S. annexation of Texas approved
The annexation of the Republic of Texas by the United States, approved by the U.S. Congress this day in 1845, sparked the Mexican War because land between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River was disputed territory.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, formed this day in 1922 with its capital in Moscow, eventually incorporated 15 republics and constituted (in area) the largest country in the world until its dissolution in 1991.

Ottawa made capital of Canada
Ottawa, located in Ontario at the confluence of the Ottawa, Gatineau, and Rideau rivers and whose area was first described by Samuel de Champlain in 1613, was named the capital of Canada by Queen Victoria this day in 1857.

Euro introduced in Europe
On this day in 2002 the euro, the monetary unit of the European Union, was introduced with the issuance of both currency and coins, and by March 2002 it was the sole legal tender of participating member states.

Granada reclaimed by Spain
On this day in 1492, Granada, home of the Alhambra palace and the seat and final stronghold of the Moorish kingdom in Spain, was surrendered to the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II and Isabella I, ending the Reconquest.

Martin Luther excommunicated by pope
On this day in 1521, Pope Leo X issued the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem, excommunicating Martin Luther, the German priest whose questioning of certain Roman Catholic practices initiated the Protestant Reformation.

Burma granted independence
On this day in 1948, the Southeast Asian nation of Burma (Myanmar) formally gained independence, completing the transfer of power negotiated by Burmese leader Aung San and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee in 1947.

Golden Gate Bridge construction begun
In San Francisco on this day in 1933, construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge, a suspension bridge that once boasted the longest main span in the world and that has been celebrated for the magnificence of its setting.

Epiphany
Celebrated annually this day, Epiphany is a major feast that commemorates, for Western Christians, the coming of the Magi and, for Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jesus' birth, baptism by John, and first miracle.

Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's four moons
During this month in 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo made the earthshaking discoveries that four moons revolve around Jupiter and that the telescope reveals many more stars than are visible to the naked eye.

1959 Charles de Gaulle was inaugurated as president of France's Fifth Republic.

2001 Apple introduced iTunes, a digital media player application that, with the year's later debut of the iPod, revolutionized digital music.

1946 The first United Nations General Assembly met in London.