On April 25, 1507, a world map produced by German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller contained the first recorded use of the term “America,” in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci.

In 1898, Congress declared war on Spain. The 16-week Spanish-American War resulted in an American victory, after which the United States took possession of the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam.

In 1945, during World War II, delegates from 50 countries opened a conference in San Francisco to create the Charter of the United Nations.

In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in orbit from the space shuttle Discovery.

In 2014, city officials in Flint, Michigan, changed the source of its water supply to the Flint River in a cost-cutting move. The river water exposed residents to dangerous levels of lead and bacteria, leading to a health crisis that took five years to resolve.