EVENTS:
- 1881 – Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world’s first black international football player and captain.
- 1968 – Mauritius achieves independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1992 – Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1993 – Several bombs explode in Mumbai, India, killing about 300 and injuring hundreds more.
- 1993 – The 1993 Storm of the Century: Snow begins to fall across the eastern portion of the US with tornadoes, thunder snow storms, high winds and record low temperatures. The storm lasts for 30 hours.
- 2003 – WHO officially released global warning on pandemic SARS disease.
- 2011 – A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melts and explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after Japan’s earthquake.
- 2014 – A gas explosion in the New York City neighborhood of East Harlem kills eight and injures 70 others.
- 2019 – In the House of Commons, the revised EU Withdrawal Bill was rejected by a margin of 149 votes.
- 2020 – The United States suspends travel from Europe due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BIRTHS:
- 1915 – Willibald C. Bianchi, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1945)
- 1917 – Googie Withers, Indian-Australian actress (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1954 – Anish Kapoor, Indian-English sculptor
- 1958 – Matt Millen, American football player and manager
- 1963 – Ian Holloway, English footballer and manager
- 1979 – Shaun Rogers, American football player
- 1984 – Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer and actress
- 1985 – Bradley Wright-Phillips, English footballer
- 1988 – Myles Weston, English footballer
- 1989 – Richard Eckersley, English footballer
- 1998 – Carsen Edwards, American basketball player
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
- National Day (Mauritius)
- Youth Day (Zambia)
- Arbor Day (China)
- Tree Day (Republic of Macedonia)
