1852

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s influential novel about slavery, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” was first published in book form; it would become the best-selling novel of the 19th century.

2014

President Barack Obama ordered economic sanctions against nearly two dozen members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and a major bank that provided them support, raising the stakes in an East-West showdown over Ukraine.

2018

In a phone call to Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump offered congratulations on Putin’s reelection victory; a senior official said Trump had been warned in briefing materials that he should not congratulate Putin.