1618

Sir Walter Raleigh, the English courtier, military adventurer and poet, was executed in London for treason.

1929

“Black Tuesday” descended on the New York Stock Exchange as America’s Great Depression began.

1956

During the Suez Canal crisis, Israel invaded Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

2004

Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped statement, directly admitted for the first time that he’d ordered the Sept. 11 attacks, and told Americans “the best way to avoid another Manhattan” was to stop threatening Muslims’ security.