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Gaza War: Hamas announces they will accept Israel Defense Forces offer of a ceasefire, ending the assault.
The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people and Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Hurricane Kyrill causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe.
The Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France
A bushfire kills four people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in all 50 states.
Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals to his family.
Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom's government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
SFR Yugoslavia's Prime minister, Džemal Bijedić, his wife and six others are killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Australia's worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.
Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease.
Lebanese Christian militias kill at least 1,000 in Karantina, Beirut.
A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.
United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay killing all 32 passengers and six crew members.
Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler", is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment.
Capital Airlines Flight 20 crashes into a farm in Charles City County, Virginia, killing all 50 aboard, the third fatal Capital Airlines crash in as many years.
Willie O'Ree, the first African Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
World War II: British troops launch a general counter-offensive against Italian East Africa.
Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.
Japan issues the "Twenty-One Demands" to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
First Balkan War: A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.
Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco Bay, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H. L. Smith.
Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom.
Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed Kaiser Wilhelm in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles (France) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Wilhelm already had the title of German Emperor since the constitution of 1 January 1871, but he had hesitated to accept the title.
The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrive at Botany Bay.
James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands".
Frederick I crowns himself King of Prussia in Königsberg.
King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Mingyi Swa of Burma in single combat, for which this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founds Lima, the capital of Peru.
King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.
Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.
Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later.
General Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor.
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