- 1824 – The United States Department of War creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
- 1845 – 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.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
- 1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.
- 1916 – USS Nevada (BB-36) is commissioned as the first US Navy “super-dreadnought”.
- 1917 – World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley Maude.
- 1918 – The first case of Spanish flu occurs, the start of a devastating worldwide pandemic.
- 1941 – 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.
- 1945 – 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.
- 1946 – Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is captured by British troops.
- 1975 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong guerrilla forces establish control over Ban Me Thuot commune from the South Vietnamese army.
- 1977 – 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.
- 1978 – 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.
- 1983 – Pakistan successfully conducts a cold test of a nuclear weapon.
- 1993 – 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.
- 2004 – Madrid train bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid, Spain, kill 191 people.
- 2007 – Georgia claims Russian helicopters attacked the Kodori Valley in Abkhazia, an accusation that Russia categorically denies later.
- 2009 – 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.
- 2011 – 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.
- 2014 – Russia annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Getting 2014 Crimean crisis and 2014–15 Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1969 – Terrence Howard, American actor
- 1968 – Lisa Loeb, American singer-songwriter
- 1964 – Vinnie Paul, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (Pantera)
