In 1429: The siege of Orleans was lifted by a French army led by Joan of Arc.

In 1913: New Jersey inventor Gideon Sundback patented the first practical zipper.

In 1945: American troops liberated the German concentration camp at Dachau, Germany.

In 1957: The first Civil Rights Act in nearly a century was passed. It was designed to help black voters in the South.

In 1967: Muhammed Ali was stripped of his world heavyweight title for refusing to be drafted into the Army.

In 1974: The last four Americans to die in combat in Vietnam were killed.