612 B.C.-Fall of Nineveh to the Babylonians and the forces of Medes, leads to the sack of one of the greatest cities in the world, the destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and the death of King Sinsharishkun [date approximate]

610-Traditional date of Laylat al-Qadr / Night of Power when Muslims believe the Quran is first sent down from heaven to the world and revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad

1497-Explorer John Cabot tells King Henry VII of his trip to "Asia"

1675-King Charles II and John Flamsteed lay the foundation stone of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London

1846-U.S. Act of Congress passes establishment of the Smithsonian Institution, now the world's largest museum and research complex

1990-NASA's Magellan spacecraft arrives at Venus

2001-U.S. and U.K. reject a proposal by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to permit the Iraqi government to use $1 billion per year to fund infrastructure improvements and to increase oil production capacity