Romania and Bulgaria signed the European Union’s Treaty of Accession, the last step to joining the Union.
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The Thornton Affair, a skirmish between American and Mexican soldiers in Texas, started a chain of events that led to the Mexican-American War.
The Chongzhen Emperor died by suicide during a peasant rebellion.
Bell Labs demonstrated the first practical silicon solar cell in New Jersey, US.
Kathmandu, Nepal, was devastated by a major earthquake.
The Discovery Space Shuttle deployed the Hubble Space Telescope into low-Earth orbit.
