1778: During the American Revolutionary War, the United States won official recognition and military support from France with the signing of the Treaty of Alliance in Paris.

1862: During the Civil War, Fort Henry in Tennessee fell to Union forces.

1899: A peace treaty between the United States and Spain was ratified by the U.S. Senate; the treaty ended the Spanish-American War and ceded the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States.

1921: “The Kid,” Charlie Chaplin’s first feature-length film, was released across the United States.

1952: Britain’s King George VI, 56, died at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England; he was succeeded as monarch by his 25-year-old eldest daughter, who became Queen Elizabeth II.

1998: Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, honoring the former president on his 87th birthday.

2013: Toy maker Hasbro Inc. announced that Monopoly fans had voted online to add a cat token to the board game, replacing the iron.

2022: Queen Elizabeth II celebrated the 70th anniversary of her ascendance to the British throne, an unprecedented reign that made her a symbol of stability in the United Kingdom.

2023: A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, toppling thousands of buildings and trapping residents under mounds of rubble; the death toll would eventually surpass 50,000.