This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Syrian government forces retake control of the besieged areas of Aleppo.
The repeal of the Don't ask, don't tell policy, the 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the United States military, is signed into law by President Barack Obama.
An ash dike ruptured at a solid waste containment area in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m3) of coal fly ash slurry.
Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.
Burhanuddin Rabbani, political leader of the Northern Alliance, hands over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by President Hamid Karzai.
Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquishes the disputed title of President of Somalia by signing the Cairo Declaration, in Cairo, Egypt. It is the first major step towards reconciliation in Somalia since 1991.
Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas are massacred by paramilitary forces.
Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of trusteeship.
Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.
Communist President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu is overthrown by Ion Iliescu after days of bloody confrontations. The deposed dictator and his wife flee Bucharest in a helicopter as protesters erupt in cheers.
In Zimbabwe, the political parties ZANU and ZAPU reach an agreement that ends the violence in the Matabeleland region known as the Gukurahundi.
Bernhard Goetz shoots four would-be muggers on an express train in Manhattan section of New York, New York.
The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for Chinese economic reform.
The house of former British Prime Minister Edward Heath is attacked by members of the Provisional IRA.
Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli vote to become the independent nation of Comoros. Mayotte remains under French administration.
Cultural Revolution: People's Daily posted the instructions of Mao Zedong that "The intellectual youth must go to the country, and will be educated from living in rural poverty."
In the United Kingdom, a 70 mph speed limit is applied to all rural roads including motorways for the first time.
The first test flight of the SR-71 (Blackbird) took place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.
The cruise ship Lakonia burns 180 miles (290 km) north of Madeira, Portugal with the loss of 128 lives.
The Selangor Labour Party is founded in Selangor, Malaya.
Sjafruddin Prawiranegara established the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (Pemerintah Darurat Republik Indonesia, PDRI) in West Sumatra.
World War II: The Vietnam People's Army is formed to resist Japanese occupation of Indochina, now Vietnam.
World War II: Battle of the Bulge: German troops demand the surrender of United States troops at Bastogne, Belgium, prompting the famous one word reply by General Anthony McAuliffe: "Nuts!"
World War II: Adolf Hitler signs the order to develop the V-2 rocket as a weapon.
Indian Muslims observe a "Day of Deliverance" to celebrate the resignations of members of the Indian National Congress over their not having been consulted over the decision to enter World War II with the United Kingdom.
Opening of Visva-Bharati College, also known as Santiniketan College, now Visva Bharati University, India.
The GOELRO economic development plan is adopted by the 8th Congress of Soviets of the Russian SFSR.
The Dreyfus affair begins in France, when Alfred Dreyfus is wrongly convicted of treason.
Cornwallis Valley Railway begins operation between Kentville and Kingsport, Nova Scotia.
Itō Hirobumi, a samurai, became the first Prime Minister of Japan.
Savannah, Georgia falls to the forces of General Sherman.
Ludwig van Beethoven conducts and performs in concert at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, with the premiere of his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto (performed by Beethoven himself) and Choral Fantasy (with Beethoven at the piano).
The Embargo Act, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, is passed by the U.S. Congress, at the urging of President Thomas Jefferson.
The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Alexander Suvorov and his Russian armies.
Nguyễn Huệ proclaims himself Emperor Quang Trung, in effect abolishing on his own the Lê dynasty.
Pope Honorius III approves the Dominican Order through the papal bull of confirmation Religiosam vitam.
Luoyang, eastern capital of the Tang dynasty, is captured by rebel leader Huang Chao during the reign of Emperor Xizong.
Damghan earthquake: An earthquake near the Persian city of Damghan kills an estimated 200,000 people, the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history.
Emperor Vitellius is captured and murdered at the Gemonian stairs in Rome.
English