On this day in 1933, during the Great Depression, banks in the United States began to re-open after President Franklin D. Roosevelt mandated a "bank holiday".
On this day in 1988, the Seikan Tunnel, the longest undersea tunnel in the world, opened between Aomori and Hakodate, Japan.
On this day in 2008, gold prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit $1,000 per ounce for the first time.
And on this day in 2013, Pope Francis was elected as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church.