EVENTS:
- 1918 – Czechoslovakia becomes a republic.
- 1921 – Foundation of the Communist Party of Spain.
- 1922 – The British Broadcasting Company begins radio service in the United Kingdom.
- 1967 – American physicist Theodore Maiman is given a patent for his ruby laser systems, the world’s first laser.
- 1969 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 12, the second crewed mission to the surface of the Moon.
- 1970 – Southern Airways Flight 932 crashes in the mountains near Huntington, West Virginia, killing 75, including members of the Marshall University football team.
- 1971 – Mariner 9 enters orbit around Mars.
- 2008 – The first G-20 economic summit opens in Washington, D.C.
- 2012 – Israel launches a major military operation in the Gaza Strip, as hostilities with Hamas escalate.
- 2016 – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Kaikoura, New Zealand, at a depth of 15 km (9 miles), resulting in the deaths of two people.
- 2017 – A gunman kills four people and injures twelve others during a shooting spree across Rancho Tehama Reserve, California. He had earlier murdered his wife in their home.
- 2019 – A mass shooting occurs at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, resulting in three deaths, including that of the perpetrator, and three injuries.
BIRTHS:
- 1889 – Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of India (d. 1964)
- 1891 – Frederick Banting, Canadian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
- 1904 – Harold Larwood, English-Australian cricketer (d. 1995)
- 1947 – Bharathan, Indian director and screenwriter (d. 1998)
- 1959 – Chris Woods, English footballer, coach, and manager
- 1960 – Remi Moses, English footballer and coach
- 1971 – Vikas Khanna, Indian chef and author
- 1971 – Adam Gilchrist, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1972 – Martin Pike, Australian footballer and coach
- 1972 – Aaron Taylor, American football player and sportscaster
- 1984 – Lisa De Vanna, Australian footballer
- 1984 – Courtney Johns, Australian footballer
- 1989 – Jake Livermore, English footballer
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
