On July 16, 1769, Franciscan friar Junipero Serra founded California’s first Catholic mission. This marked the beginning of the Spanish mission system in California, which would go on to shape the culture, history, and landscape of the region for centuries.
On July 13, 1584, the first of three Roanoke voyages arrived in present-day North Carolina. These were attempts to establish the first permanent English settlement in North America. While the settlement saw the first English child born in America, all of the settlers disappeared and their fate is still unknown today.
On June 29, 1995, the US Space Shuttle Atlantis docked the Russian space station Mir for the first time. The mission, STS-71, was the third in the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir program. It began on June 27, 1995, when the Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the 100th US human space launch from Cape Canaveral.
On June 9, 1534, Jacques Cartier became the first European explorer to travel the St. Lawrence River.
On April 17, 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano became the first European to see New York harbor.
On February 18, 1930, Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto after nearly a year of searching. It would be another 85 years before the US sent its first space probe there – inspired by a postage stamp!
On February 14, 1912, Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. It would be another 48 years before another state was added to the Union.
On February 10, 1807, President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation to establish the United States Survey of the Coast. This later became the US Coast and Geodetic Survey and eventually the National Geodetic Survey.
On January 18, 1778, Captain James Cook became the first European to reach the Hawaiian islands. The Hawaiians believed Cook had divine powers and considered him a great chief.