1763 – Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what will become the United States.
1766 – Swedish parliament approved the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act and implemented it as a ground law, thus being first in the world with freedom of speech.
1804 – At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himselfEmperor of the French.
1805 – War of the Third Coalition: Battle of Austerlitz: French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte decisively defeat a joint Russo-Austrian force.
1823 – Monroe Doctrine: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James Monroe proclaims American neutrality in future European conflicts, and warns European powers not to interfere in the Americas.
1845 – Manifest destiny: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James K. Polk proposes that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.
1852 – Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte becomes Emperor of the French as Napoleon III.
1859 – Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October 16raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
1865 – Alabama ratifies 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, followed by North Carolina then Georgia, and U.S. slaves were legally free within two weeks
1867 – At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.
1899 – Philippine–American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, termed "The Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.
1908 – Puyi becomes Emperor of China at the age of two.
1917 – World War I: Russia and the Central Powers sign an armistice at Brest-Litovsk, and peace talks leading to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk begin.
1927 – Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile.
1930 – Great Depression: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Herbert Hoover proposes a $150 million (Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[".) public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy.
1942 – World War II: During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
1943 – World War II: A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks numerous cargo and transport ships, including the American SS John Harvey, which is carrying a stockpile of World War I-era mustard gas.
1947 – Jerusalem Riots of 1947: Riots break out in Jerusalem in response to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine.
1949 – Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others is adopted.
1950 – Korean War: Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River ended, with decisive Chinese victory, UN forces were completely expelled from North Korea.
1954 – Cold War: The United States Senatevotes 65 to 22 to censureJoseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute".
1954 – The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Taiwan, is signed in Washington, D.C.
1956 – The Granma reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente Province. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution.
1957 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 126 relating to Kashmir conflict is adopted.
1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.
1962 – Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority LeaderMike Mansfield becomes the first American official to comment adversely on the war's progress.
1970 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations.
1971 – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Quwain form the United Arab Emirates.
1975 – Laotian Civil War: The Pathet Lao seizes the Laotian capital of Vientiane, forces the abdication of King Sisavang Vatthana, and proclaims the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
1976 – Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado.
1980 – Salvadoran Civil War: Four American missionaries are raped and murdered by a death squad.
1982 – At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
1988 – Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state.
1989 – The Peace Agreement of Hat Yai is signed and ratified by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and the governments of Malaysia and Thailand, ending the over two-decade-long communist insurgency in Malaysia.
1991 – Canada and Poland become the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union.
1993 – Colombiandrug lordPablo Escobar is shot and killed in Medellín.
1993 – Space Shuttle program: STS-61: NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
2015 – San Bernardino attack: SyedRizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik kill 14 people and wound 22 at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California.
2016 – Thirty-six people die in a fire at a converted Oakland, California, warehouse serving as an artist collective.
Births[]
503 – Emperor Jianwen of Liang, emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty (d. 551)
1501 – Queen Munjeong, Korean queen (d. 1565)
1578 – Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1641)
1599 – Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, Scottish nobleman (d. 1663)
1629 – William Egon of Fürstenberg, Catholic cardinal (d. 1704)
1694 – William Shirley, English-American lawyer and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1771)
1703 – Ferdinand Konščak, Croatian missionary and explorer (d. 1759)
1738 – Richard Montgomery, Irish-American general (d. 1775)
1754 – William Cooper, American judge and politician, founded Cooperstown, New York (d. 1809)
1759 – James Edward Smith, English botanist and mycologist, founded the Linnean Society (d. 1828)
1760 – John Breckinridge, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th United States Attorney General (d. 1806)
1760 – Joseph Graetz, German organist, composer, and educator (d. 1826)
1798 – António Luís de Seabra, 1st Viscount of Seabra, Portuguese magistrate and politician (d. 1895)
1810 – Henry Yesler, American businessman and politician, 7th Mayor of Seattle (d. 1892)
1811 – Jean-Charles Chapais, Canadian farmer and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Agriculture (d. 1885)
1817 – Heinrich von Sybel, German historian, academic, and politician (d. 1895)
1825 – Pedro II of Brazil (d. 1891)
1827 – William Burges, English architect and designer (d. 1881)[1]
1846 – Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, French lawyer and politician, 68th Prime Minister of France (d. 1904)
1847 – Deacon White, American baseball player and manager (d. 1939)
1615 – Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon, French general (b. 1541)
1665 – Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, French author (b. 1588)
1694 – Pierre Puget, French painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1622)
1719 – Pasquier Quesnel, French theologian and author (b. 1634)
1723 – Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (b. 1674)
1726 – Samuel Penhallow, English-American historian and author (b. 1665)
1747 – Vincent Bourne, English poet and scholar (b. 1695)
1748 – Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1662)
1774 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (b. 1720)
1814 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher, author, and politician (b. 1740)
1844 – Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko, Polish general and politician (b. 1768)
1849 – Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (b. 1792)
1859 – John Brown, American abolitionist (b. 1800)
1881 – Jenny von Westphalen, German author (b. 1814)
1885 – Allen Wright, Principal chief of the Choctaw Nation (1866-1870); proposed the name "Oklahoma", from Choctaw words okra and umma, meaning "Territory of the Red People." (b. 1826)
1892 – Jay Gould, American businessman and financier (b. 1836)
1899 – Gregorio del Pilar, Filipino general and politician, 1st Governor of Bulacan (b. 1875)
1918 – Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)
1924 – Kazimieras Būga, Lithuanian linguist and philologist (b. 1879)
1927 – Paul Heinrich von Groth, German scientist who systematically classified minerals and founded the journal Zeitschrift für Krystallographie und Mineralogie (b. 1843)
1931 – Vincent d'Indy, French composer and educator (b. 1851)
1936 – John Ringling, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Brothers Circus (b. 1866)
1943 – Nordahl Grieg, Norwegian journalist and author (b. 1902)
1944 – Josef Lhévinne, Russian pianist and educator (b. 1874)