• 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed from movable type.
• 1660 - Charles XI becomes King of Sweden.
• 1778 - American Revolution: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.
• 1820 - Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.
• 1836 - The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.
• 1847 - Mexican-American War: Battle of Buena Vista - In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
• 1854 - The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.
• 1861 - President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after an assassination attempt in Baltimore, Maryland.
• 1870 - Military control of Mississippi ends and it's readmitted to the Union.
• 1883 - Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law.
• 1887 - The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
• 1898 - Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing "J'accuse", a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully placing Captain Alfred Dreyfus in jail.
• 1900 - In South Africa, the Boers and British troops fight in the Battle of Hart's Hill.
• 1903 - Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".
• 1904 - The United States gains control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million.
• 1905 - Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world's first service club.
• 1909 - The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
• 1917 - First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution.
• 1918 - First victory of Red Army over the Kaiser's German troops near Narva and Pskov. Since 1923 this date become the Day of Red Army in honour of this victory.
• 1919 - Benito Mussolini forms the Fascist Party in Italy.
• 1927 - The Federal Radio Commission (later renamed the Federal Communications Commission) begins to regulate the use of radio frequencies.
• 1934 - Léopold III becomes King of Belgium.
• 1941 - Plutonium was first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
• 1944 - Forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people to Central Asia.
• 1945 - World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a commonly forgotten U.S. Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag. The photo would later win a Pulitzer Prize.
• 1945 - World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by American forces.
• 1945 - World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań, the city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.
• 1945 - World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is completely destroyed by a raid of 379 British bombers.
• 1945 - World War II: The Verona Philharmonic Theatre is bombed by Allied forces. It would later be re-opened in 1975.
• 1947 - The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.
• 1954 - The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh.
• 1955 - First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
• 1957 - The founding congress of the Senegalese Popular Bloc is opened in Dakar.
• 1958 - Cuban rebels kidnap 5-time world driving champion Juan Manuel Fangio.
• 1966 - A military coup in Syria replaces the previous government.
• 1974 - The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
• 1975 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly two months early in the United States.
• 1980 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament would decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
• 1981 - 23-F, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
• 1983 - The Spanish Socialist government of Felipe González and Miguel Boyer nationalizes Rumasa, a holding of José María Ruiz Mateos.
• 1983 - The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
• 1987 - Supernova 1987a: A supernova is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
• 1991 - Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabia border and enter Iraq, thus starting the ground-phase of the war.
• 1991 - In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
• 1992 - The Socialist Labour Party is founded in Georgia.
• 1995 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 30.28 to close at 4,003.33, closing above 4,000 for the first time.
• 1997 - A large fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir.
• 1998 - Kissimmee Tornado Outbreak: Tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42.
• 1998 - Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders.
• 1999 - Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
• 1999 - An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31.
• 2005 - Slovakia Summit 2005 begins, marking the first occasion when a sitting American President visits Slovakia; George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin are in attendance.
• 2005 - Vote of the controversial French law on colonialism, repealed start of 2006.
• 2006 - Dubai Ports World agrees to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill.
• 2007 - Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
• 2007 - A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, United Kingdom, killing one person and injuring 22. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.
• 2008 - a B-2 Spirit of the USAF crashes at Guam. The crew survived but the aircraft was written off, making it the most expensive air crash in human history (the aircraft alone cost $1.2Bn).

Births