On May 14, 1607, English Colonists went ashore in Virginia to begin building a permanent settlement, named Jamestown after England's King James I.

In 1796, English physician Edward Jenner succeeded in inoculating 8-year-old James Phipps against smallpox by using cowpox matter.

In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory left camp near St. Louis.

In 1900, the Olympic games opened in Paris, held as part of the World's Fair.

In 1942, Congress voted to establish the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps.

In 1942, Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" was first performed, by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

In 1948, according to the common-era calendar, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv.

In 1973, the United States launched Skylab 1, its first manned space station.

In 1998, singer-actor Frank Sinatra died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 82. The hit sitcom "Seinfeld" aired its final episode after nine years on NBC.