EVENTS:
- 1867 – At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.
- 1927 – Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile.
- 1939 – New York City’s LaGuardia Airport opens.
- 1970 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations.
- 1971 – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Quwain form the United Arab Emirates.
- 1982 – At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
- 1988 – Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state.
- 1991 – Canada and Poland become the first nations on earth to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union.
- 1999 – Glenbrook rail accident: Seven passengers are killed when two trains collide near Sydney, New South Wales.
- 2001 – Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- 2015 – San Bernardino attack: Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik kill 14 people and wound 22 at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California.
- 2016 – 36 people die in a fire at a converted Oakland, California, warehouse serving as an artist collective.
BIRTHS:
- 1860 – Charles Studd, England cricketer and missionary (d. 1931)
- 1885 – George Minot, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
- 1898 – Indra Lal Roy, Indian lieutenant and pilot (d. 1918)
- 1912 – George Emmett, English cricketer and coach (d. 1976)
- 1930 – Gary Becker, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
- 1933 – K. Veeramani, Indian lawyer and academic
- 1937 – Manohar Joshi, Indian politician, 15th Chief Minister of Maharashtra
- 1947 – Tommy Jenkins, English footballer and manager
- 1959 – Boman Irani, Indian actor and singer
- 1968 – David Batty, English footballer
- 1982 – Matt Ware, American football player
- 1986 – Adam le Fondre, English footballer
- 1988 – Soniya Mehra, Indian actress
- 1994 – Cauley Woodrow, English footballer
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
