| | 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta. |
| | 362 - Roman Emperor Julian promulgates an edict that recognizes equal rights to all the religions in the Roman Empire. |
| | 1454 - In the Thirteen Years' War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master. |
| | 1703 - In Edo (now Tokyo), 46 of the Forty-Seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death. |
| | 1783 - American Revolutionary War: The United Kingdom formally declares that it will cease hostilities with the United States of America. |
| | 1789 - George Washington is unanimously elected to be the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College. |
| | 1792 - George Washington is unanimously elected to a second term as President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College. |
| | 1794 - The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French Republic. |
| | 1801 - John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States. |
| | 1810 - British Navy seizes Guadeloupe. |
| | 1825 - The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal. |
| | 1836 - Dade County, Florida is formed. |
| | 1859 - Codex Sinaiticus discovered in Egypt. |
| | 1861 - American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, Delegates from six break-away U.S. states meet and form The Confederate States of America. |
| | 1862 - Bacardi, one of the world's largest spirits company, is founded as a small distillery in Santiago de Cuba in eastern Cuba. |
| | 1899 - The Philippine-American War begins. |
| | 1915 - Germany establishes a submarine blockade around the UK and declares any vessel in it a legitimate target. |
| | 1927 - The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson is released. |
| | 1932 - World War II: Japan occupies Harbin, China. |
| | 1932 - Olympic Games: Winter Olympic Games - III Olympic Winter Games open in Lake Placid, New York. |
| | 1936 - Radium E. becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically. |
| | 1938 - Thornton Wilder's play Our Town opens (New York City). |
| | 1938 - Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released, and it went on to become a major box-office success, making more money than any other motion picture in 1938. |
| | 1941 - World War II: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops. |
| | 1943 - World War II: Battle of Stalingrad ends. |
| | 1945 - World War II: The Yalta Conference begin . |
| | 1948 - Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth. |
| | 1957 - USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, logs her 60,000th nautical mile, matching the endurance of the fictional Nautilus described in Jules Verne's novel "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". |
| | 1960 - Lorraine, Quebec is founded. |
| | 1962 - Ian Fleming's The Living Daylights first published. |
| | 1966 - All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 jet plunges into Tokyo Bay, killing 133. |
| | 1968 - Bowie Kuhn becomes the fifth commissioner of Major League Baseball, replacing William Eckert. |
| | 1969 - Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization. |
| | 1974 - The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California. |
| | 1976 - In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000. |
| | 1976 - Olympic Games: Winter Olympic Games - XII Olympic Winter Games open in Innsbruck, Austria. |
| | 1977 - Fleetwood Mac releases one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, Rumours. |
| | 1980 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran. |
| | 1984 - The Youth of the Left Socialists (VSU) founded in Denmark. |
| | 1991 - The Baseball Hall of Fame votes to ban Pete Rose. |
| | 1996 - Major snowstorm paralyzes Midwestern United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ties all-time record low temperature at -26°F. (-32°C) |
| | 1997 - O.J. Simpson is found to be civilly liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. |
| | 1997 - En route to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73. |
| | 1997 - After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Miloševic recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections. |
| | 1998 - An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000. |
| | 1999 - Hugo Chávez Frías, Venezuelan military and politician, is elected President of Venezuela. |
| | 1999 - Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city. |
| | 2000 - German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion in connection with sabotage of German railway lines. |
| | 2003 - The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed to Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution. |
| | 2006 - A stampede occurs in the ULTRA Stadium near Manila killing at least 74. |