German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovered the Great Comet of 1680, the first comet sighted using a telescope.
Source
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Kaikōura, New Zealand.
Herman Melville's novel 'Moby Dick' was published by Harper & Brothers in New York.
A 19-mile crater was found under the Greenland Glacier.
Louis Timothee became America's first paid librarian.
The discovery of an Earth-like planet 3.2 times bigger than our world was announced.