The Acts of Union were passed, officially uniting England and Scotland as one country.
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Levi Strauss was founded.
Fidel Castro banned elections and declared Cuba to be a socialist nation.
Construction started on Chicago's first-ever skyscraper for the Home Insurance Company of New York.
Despite running out of oxygen, Jim Whittaker became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
A national strike began in the United States, calling for an eight-hour workday instead of 12 hours.
