California “discovered”
Explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, known as the “discoverer” of California, landed this day in 1542 near what is now San Diego and became the first European to set foot on the west coast of what would become the United States.
2008 – SpaceX successfully launched Falcon 1, becoming the first privately owned company to send a liquid-fueled rocket into orbit.
1781 – The Siege of Yorktown began, eventually leading on October 19 to the British surrender by General Lord Cornwallis and the end of the American Revolution.