This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
At least 21 people are killed by flooding and mudslides in and around São Paulo, Brazil, following heavy rain.
A U.S. soldier kills 16 civilians in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan near Kandahar.
An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
Economist and businessman Sebastián Piñera is sworn in as President of Chile, while three earthquakes, the strongest measuring magnitude 6.9 and all centered next to Pichilemu, capital of Cardenal Caro province, hit central Chile during the ceremony.
Winnenden school shooting: Sixteen are killed and 11 are injured before recent-graduate Tim Kretschmer shoots and kills himself, leading to tightened weapons restrictions in Germany.
Georgia claims Russian helicopters attacked the Kodori Valley in Abkhazia, an accusation that Russia categorically denies later.
Madrid train bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid, Spain, kill 192 people.
Janet Reno is confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn in the next day, becoming the first female Attorney General of the United States.
Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970.
Lithuania declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
Pakistan successfully conducts a cold test of a nuclear weapon.
Coastal Road massacre: At least 37 are killed and more than 70 are wounded when Fatah hijack an Israeli bus, prompting Israel's Operation Litani.
The 1977 Hanafi Siege: More than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.
Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong guerrilla forces establish control over Buôn Ma Thuột commune from the South Vietnamese army.
Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is captured by British troops.
World War II: The Empire of Vietnam, a short-lived Japanese puppet state, is established with Bảo Đại as its ruler.
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.
World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR, abbreviated as GTO, is introduced in the Soviet Union.
In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre.
The first case of Spanish flu occurs, the start of a devastating worldwide pandemic.
World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley Maude.
The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.
Shō Tai formally abdicated his position of King of Ryūkyū, under orders from Tokyo, ending the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain.
The Great Sheffield Flood kills 238 people in Sheffield, England.
American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
The first performance of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice.
Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.
Flagstaff War: Unhappy with translational differences regarding the Treaty of Waitangi, chiefs Hone Heke, Kawiti and Māori tribe members chop down the British flagpole for a fourth time and drive settlers out of Kororareka, New Zealand.
The United States Department of War creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
During André Masséna's retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras, a division led by French Marshal Michel Ney fights off a combined Anglo-Portuguese force to give Masséna time to escape.
The signing of the Treaty of Mangalore brings the Second Anglo-Mysore War to an end.
Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.
The Daily Courant, England's first national daily newspaper is published for the first time.
Guaraní forces living in the Jesuit reductions defeat bandeirantes loyal to the Portuguese Empire at the Battle of Mbororé in present-day Panambí, Argentina.
Battle of Castagnaro: English condottiero Sir John Hawkwood leads Padova to victory in a factional clash with Verona.
Emperor Elagabalus is assassinated, along with his mother, Julia Soaemias, by the Praetorian Guard during a revolt. Their mutilated bodies are dragged through the streets of Rome before being thrown into the Tiber.
English