- 1612 – Galileo Galilei becomes the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star.
- 1895 – The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, marking the debut of the cinema.
- 1912 – The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco, California.
- 2000 – U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years.