On this day in 1846, Iowa was admitted as the 29th U.S. state.
On this day in 1895, the Lumière brothers performed for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, marking the debut of the medium of cinema.
On this day in 1973, the Endangered Species Act was passed in the United States.
On this day in 2006, the militaries of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian troops captured Mogadishu unopposed.