Vasco da Gama’s first voyage to India

On this day in 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon with a fleet of four vessels, and he ultimately opened a sea route from western Europe to Asia by way of the Cape of Good Hope, ushering in a new era in world history. 1497. 

The British pop band the Spice Girls released their debut single, Wannabe, which helped make them an international sensation. 1996. 

A local newspaper erroneously reported that a “flying saucer” had been recovered near Roswell, New Mexico; although that claim was quickly refuted by authorities, the Roswell incident eventually became the centre of a conspiracy theory involving UFOs and extraterrestrials. 1947. 

Journalist Charles Henry Dow published the first issue of The Wall Street Journal. 1889.