EVENTS:
- 1839 – The most damaging storm in 300 years sweeps across Ireland, damaging or destroying more than 20% of the houses in Dublin.
- 1853 – President-elect of the United States Franklin Pierce and his family are involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts. Pierce’s 11-year-old son Benjamin is killed in the crash.
- 1907 – Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome, Italy.
- 1912 – New Mexico is admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state.
- 1930 – The first diesel-engined automobile trip is completed, from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York, New York.
- 1931 – Thomas Edison signs his last patent application.
- 1946 – The first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
- 1947 – Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to offer a round-the-world ticket.
- 1993 – Indian Border Security Force units kill 55 Kashmiri civilians in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, in revenge after militants ambushed a BSF patrol.
- 2012 – Twenty-six people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blows himself up at a police station in Damascus.
- 2016 – North Korea declares that nuclear weapons testing of thermonuclear weapon is complete.
- 2017 – 5 people are killed and 6 others injured in a mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida.
- 2017 – The US Congress certifies Donald Trump winner of 2016 presidential election.
- 2019 – 40 people were killed in a gold mine collapse in northern Afghanistan.
- 2021 – Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump storm the United States Capitol to disrupt certification of the 2020 presidential election, resulting in five deaths and evacuation of the Congress.
BIRTHS:
- 1891 – Ted McDonald, Australian cricketer (d. 1937)
- 1910 – G. N. Balasubramaniam, Indian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1965)
- 1931 – Graeme Hole, Australian cricketer (d. 1990)
- 1935 – Ian Meckiff, Australian cricketer
- 1937 – Lou Holtz, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1943 – Terry Venables, English footballer and manager
- 1959 – Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer and coach
- 1960 – Howie Long, American football player and actor
- 1964 – Charles Haley, American football player and coach
- 1978 – Bubba Franks, American football player
- 1981 – Asante Samuel, American football player
- 1984 – Diljit Dosanjh, Indian actor and singer
- 1986 – Mike Teel, American football player
- 1987 – Bongani Khumalo, South African footballer
- 1989 – Andy Carroll, English footballer
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
