• 421 - Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
• 1575 - Universiteit Leiden founded, and given the motto "Praesidium Libertatis".
• 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots was executed at suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England.
• 1601 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed.
• 1622 - King James I of England disbands the English Parliament.
• 1692 - A doctor in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony suggests that two girls in the family of the village minister may be suffering from bewitchment, leading to the Salem witch trials.
• 1693 - The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.
• 1726 - The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
• 1807 - Battle of Eylau - Napoleon defeats Russians under General Benigssen.
• 1817 - Las Heras crosses the Andes with an army to join San Martín and liberate Chile from Spain.
• 1837 - Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
• 1849 - New Roman Republic established.
• 1855 - The Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon.
• 1865 - In the U.S., Delaware voters reject the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and vote to continue the practice of slavery. (Delaware finally ratifies the amendment on February 12, 1901.)
• 1867 - The Ausgleich results in the establishment of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.
• 1879 - Sandford Fleming first proposes adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute.
• 1887 - The Dawes Act authorized the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
• 1900 - British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith, South Africa.
• 1904 - Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
• 1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
• 1915 - D.W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
• 1918 - The Stars and Stripes newspaper publishes for the first time.
• 1922 - President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
• 1924 - Capital punishment: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.
• 1943 - World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal ends after the Japanese Imperial Army evacuated their remaining forces with a United States victory.
• 1949 - Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary sentenced for treason.
• 1952 - Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the UK.
• 1955 - The Government of Sindh abolished Jagirdari system in the province. One million acres (4000 km²) of land thus acquired is to be distributed among the landless peasants.
• 1960 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
• 1962 - Charonne massacre. 9 trade unionists are killed by French police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Paris Prefecture of Police.
• 1963 - Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
• 1968 - American civil rights movement: The Orangeburg massacre, a mass killing in Orangeburg, South Carolina of black students from South Carolina State University who were protesting segregation at the town's only bowling alley.
• 1969 - Allende meteorite falls near Pueblito de Allende, Chihuahua, Mexico.
• 1971 - The Nasdaq stock market index debuts.
• 1974 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the first American space station Skylab return to Earth.
• 1974 - Military coup in Upper Volta.
• 1978 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
• 1979 - Denis Sassou-Nguesso became the President of the Republic of the Congo for the first time.
• 1983 - The Melbourne dust storm hits Australia's second largest city. The result of the worst drought on record and a day of severe weather conditions, the 320m deep dust cloud envelops the city, turning day to night.
• 1986 - 1984 Summer Olympics head of the LAPD bomb squad, Arleigh McCree, and his partner Officer Ronald Ball of the Firearms and explosives unit were killed while trying to dismantle two pipe bombs when they responded to a call. McCree was recognized as one of the top explosive experts in the world.
• 1989 - An Independent Air Boeing 707 crashes into Santa Maria mountain in Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal, killing 144.
• 1993 - General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
• 1996 - The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
• 1996 - The massive Internet collaboration "24 Hours in Cyberspace" takes place.
• 1998 - First female ice hockey game in Olympic history: Finland beats Sweden 6-0.
• 2005 - Israel and Palestinians agree to cease-fire.
• 2008 - Nebraska bans electric chair as sole execution method.

Births