| | 1582 - Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain. |
| | 1665 - The University of Kiel is founded. |
| | 1789 - French Revolution: Parisian women march to Versailles to confront Louis XVI about his refusal to promulgate the decrees on the abolition of feudalism. |
| | 1793 - French Revolution: Christianity is disestablished in France. |
| | 1864 - The Indian city of Calcutta is almost totally destroyed by a cyclone; 60,000 die. |
| | 1869 - A strong hurricane devastates the Bay of Fundy region of Maritime Canada. The storm had been predicted over a year before by a British naval officer. |
| | 1877 - Chief Joseph surrenders his Nez Perce band to General Nelson A. Miles. |
| | 1886 - City of Johannesburg, South Africa founded following the discovery of gold there. |
| | 1895 - The first individual time trial for racing cyclists is held on a 50-mile course north of London. |
| | 1905 - Wilbur Wright pilots Wright Flyer III in a flight of 24 miles in 39 minutes, a world record that stood until 1908. |
| | 1910 - Portugal overthrows its monarchy and declares itself a republic. |
| | 1915 - Bulgaria enters World War I as one of the Central Powers. |
| | 1921 - Baseball: The World Series was broadcast on the radio for the first time. |
| | 1930 - British Airship R101 crashed in France en-route to India on its maiden voyage. |
| | 1936 - The Jarrow March sets off for London. |
| | 1944 - Canadian Air Force pilots shoot down the first German jet fighter over France. |
| | 1945 - Hollywood Black Friday: A six month strike by Hollywood set decorators turns into a bloody riot at the gates of Warner Brothers' studios. |
| | 1947 - The first televised White House address is given by U.S. President Harry S. Truman. |
| | 1949 - WSAZ, West Virginia's first television station, begins broadcasting in Huntington. |
| | 1953 - The first documented recovery meeting of Narcotics Anonymous is held. |
| | 1953 - Earl Warren is sworn in as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States. |
| | 1962 - The Beatles release their first single, "Love Me Do," in Britain. |
| | 1966 - Near Detroit, Michigan, there is a partial core meltdown at the Enrico Fermi demonstration nuclear breeder reactor. |
| | 1969 - The first broadcast of Monty Python's Flying Circus. |
| | 1970 - PBS became a television network. |
| | 1970 - Montreal, Quebec: British Trade Commissioner James Cross is kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group. |
| | 1972 - The Last Goon Show of All goes to air on BBC Radio, one of the most celebrated and influential programmes in the history of radio. |
| | 1973 - Signature of the European Patent Convention |
| | 1974 - Guildford pub bombing by the IRA leaves 5 dead and 65 injured. |
| | 1974 - I Honestly Love You first reaches #1 on the Billboard charts, giving Olivia Newton-John her first top-selling single in the United States. |
| | 1981 - Raoul Wallenberg becomes an honorary U.S. citizen. |
| | 1984 - Marc Garneau becomes the first Canadian in space, aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. |
| | 1986 - Israeli secret nuclear weapons was revealed. The British newspaper The Sunday Times ran Mordechai Vanunu's story on its front page under the headline: "Revealed — the secrets of Israel's nuclear arsenal." |
| | 1988 - The Chilean opposition coalition Concertación (center-left) defeat Augusto Pinochet in his re-election intentions. Next year a general election was called. |
| | 1990 - After one hundred and fifty years The Herald broadsheet newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, is published for the last time as a separate newspaper. |
| | 1991 - An Indonesian military transport crashes after takeoff from Jakarta killing 137. |
| | 1991 - The first official version of the Linux kernel, version 0.02, is released. |
| | 1999 - The Ladbroke Grove rail crash in west London kills 31 people. |
| | 2000 - Mass demonstrations in Belgrade lead to resignation of Serbian strongman Slobodan Miloševic. These demonstration are often called the Bulldozer Revolution. |
| | 2001 - Robert Stevens becomes the first victim in the 2001 anthrax attacks. |
| | 2001 - Tom Ridge resigns as Governor of Pennsylvania to become President Bush's Homeland Security Advisor. |
| | 2001 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants set a new mark for home runs in a single season, hitting his 71st and 72nd in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. |
| | 2003 - Akhmad Kadyrov is elected President of Chechnya. |
| | 2005 - The National Hockey League resumes its season after a year-and-a-half lockout. |
| | 2006 - Mass walkouts across the United States in protest of the Bush administration, organized by the World Can't Wait organization. |