2000 In a ceremony in London, the International Women of the Year Association awarded the title Greatest Woman Achiever of the Century to Russian cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova, the first woman in space.

1986: Reykjavik summit ends in failure
Superpower talks collapse after Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev fail to agree on Star Wars.

Cornerstone laid for the White House
The cornerstone for the White House, the official office and home of every U.S. president and first lady since 1800 (when John and Abigail Adams moved in near the end of his term), was laid this day in 1792.

1969: New 50-pence coin sparks confusion
The new seven-sided 50p coin comes into circulation but prompts complaints that it is too similar to the 10-pence.

Final conference on Antarctic Treaty
On this day in 1959 a final conference on the Antarctic Treaty convened in Washington, D.C., and, after six weeks of negotiations, the treaty was signed by 12 countries, preserving the continent for free scientific study.

1847 English novelist Charlotte Brontë (under the pseudonym Currer Bell) published Jane Eyre, which became a classic noted for giving new truthfulness to the Victorian novel.

1980: Pope welcomes Queen to the Vatican
The Queen makes the first state visit to the Vatican by a British monarch and is received by the Pope.

1931 American gangster Al Capone was convicted of federal income-tax evasion and was subsequently sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
On this day in 1781, Britain's Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, handing a huge victory to American Gen. George Washington and effectively ending the American Revolution and assuring America's independence.

2002 Blue Stream, the deepest underwater pipeline in the world, opened in Turkey and was put in use for the transport of natural gas.

Magellan's discovery of gateway to circumnavigating the globe
On this day in 1520, explorer Ferdinand Magellan and three Spanish ships entered the strait later named for him, sailing between the mainland tip of South America and the island of Tierra del Fuego toward the Pacific Ocean.

2010 WikiLeaks, a Web site founded by Julian Assange that functioned as a clearinghouse for classified or otherwise privileged information, released thousands of U.S. documents relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

2001 Apple introduced the iPod, a portable media player that became one of the most successful and revolutionary products of the early 2000s.

United Nations established
The charter for the United Nations—the world's premier international organization, established at the end of World War II to maintain world peace and friendly relations among nations—entered into force this day in 1945.

English triumph at Agincourt
On this day in 1415, the English army, led by Henry V, scored a decisive victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War, paving the way for further English conquests and successes.