1420 • Henry V of England enters Paris.
1640 • Portugal regains independence after 60 years of Spanish rule
1824 • US House of Representatives begins to decide outcome of election deadlock between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson (Adams wins)
1903 • "The Great Train Robbery", the 1st Western film, released.
1934 • Leningrad mayor Sergey Kirov assassinated, Stalin uses as excuse to begin the Great Purge of 1934-38.
1946 • Australia compile 645 v India at the Gabba (Bradman 187).
1947 • India cricket all out for 58 v Australia at the Gabba, Toshack 5-2.
1953 • Hugh Hefner publishes 1st edition of Playboy magazine, featuring Marilyn Monroe as the magazine's 1st centrefold.
1957 • Sam Cooke, Buddy Holly and the Crickets debut on Ed Sullivan Show.
1959 • The 1st color photograph of Earth received from outer space.
1959 • 12 nations sign treaty for scientific peaceful use of Antarctica.
1988 • Benazir Bhutto named 1st female Prime Minister of a Muslim country (Pakistan).
1991 • U.S. 75th manned space mission "STS-44" Atlantis 10 lands.
1993 • Northwest Airlink plane crashes in Minn, killing 18.
1992 • 2 C-141B Starlifters collide in Montana and crash, 13 die.
2014 • The U.N. World Food Program stops assistance to over 1.7 million Syrian refugees in the nations adjoining Syria; the program has provided over $800 million in aid but lacks funds to continue this support.
ang of Chechen separatist rebels enters a school in southern Russia and takes more than 1,000 people hostage including children and their families on the first day of the new school year. During the siege that followed more than 330 died, most of them being children.