On this day in 1950, a group of armed robbers stole more than $2 million from the Brink’s Armored Car depot in Boston, Massachusetts.

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On this day in 1605, the first half of Miguel de Cervantes' landmark novel Don Quixote was published in Spain.

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On this day in 1870, political cartoonist Thomas Nast first used the donkey as a symbol for the Democratic Party in a cartoon titled “A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion."

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On this day in 1690, German instrument maker Johann Christoph Denner created the world’s first clarinet.

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On this day in 1939, a series of fires converged and swept rapidly across large areas of Victoria, Australia, leaving a widespread trail of death and destruction.

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On this day in 1908, French radio pioneer Gustave Ferrié transmitted the first long-distance message ever sent from the Eiffel Tower.

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On this day in 1569, in a public square outside Old St Paul’s Cathedral in London, the drawing began for the first state-run lottery in English history.

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On this day in 1984, fast food restaurant chain Wendy’s released its first commercial featuring the famous “Where’s the beef?” catchphrase.

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On this day in 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus recorded a sighting of three “mermaids” while sailing near what is now the Dominican Republic.

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On this day in 1867, the U.S. Congress passed the District of Columbia Suffrage Bill, granting African American men the right to vote for the first time in the nation’s history.

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