• 845 – Viking raiders possibly led by the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok captured Paris and held the city for a huge ransom.
• 1638 – Swedish
settlers founded New Sweden near Delaware Bay, the first Swedish colony in
America.
• 1871 – The Royal
Albert Hall in Albertopolis, London, was officially opened by Queen Victoria.
• 1941 – Second
World War: British Royal Navy and Australian Navy ships intercepted and sank or
severely damaged the ships of the Italian Regia Marina near Crete.
• 1974 – NASA's
Mariner 10, launched in November 1973, became the first spaceprobe to fly by
the planet Mercury.
