Navigator Vasco da Gama of Portugal started his first voyage.
He would become the first explorer to reach India by sea.
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The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence occurred.
Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot in the city of Naga while giving a speech.
The Wall Street Journal issued its first paper.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis launched for its final mission.
The state of Vermont became the first to abolish adult slavery after declaring the Constitution of Vermont.