On December 6, 1620, the Pilgrims encountered their first Native Americans -- hostile members of the Nauset tribe. The Nauset would later become the colonists' greatest allies. Most were Christianized and aided the colonists as scouts and warriors against the other tribes. Although no longer distinct as a tribe, most of the Mashpee Wampanoag band are descended from Nauset people.

Offended by Garfield's rejections of his various job applications, Guiteau shot the President at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1881. Garfield died two months later from infections related to the injury. Guiteau was hanged for the crime.

Thomas Beckett was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He challenged Henry II, King of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance London.

There were 102 passengers aboard the Mayflower, and the crew is estimated to have been about 30. After the first winter, there were only 53 passengers, just over half, still alive.

The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom and the Zanzibar Sultanate on August 27, 1896. The conflict lasted approximately 38 minutes, making it the shortest war in history.

Albert Einstein, a Jew but not an Israeli citizen, was offered the presidency in 1952 but turned it down, saying "I am deeply moved by the offer from our State of Israel, and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it. All my life I have dealt with objective matters, hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to exercise official functions."

Arabic numerals originated in India in the 6th or 7th century and were introduced to Europe through Arab mathematicians around the 12th century.

As the first wife of King Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon was the Queen of England from June 1509 until May 1533 when the marriage was declared invalid and Henry married Anne Boleyn.

The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in the battle, and was the original objective of both the colonial and British troops, though the majority of combat took place on the adjacent Breed's Hill.