EVENTS:
- 1773 – The first recorded Ministry of Education, the Commission of National Education, is formed in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- 1882 – University of the Punjab is founded in a part of India that later became West Pakistan.
- 1926 – The children’s book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne, is first published.
- 1947 – Captain Chuck Yeager of the United States Air Force flies a Bell X-1 rocket-powered experimental aircraft, the Glamorous Glennis, faster than the speed of sound over the high desert of Southern California and becomes the first pilot and the first airplane to do so in level flight.
- 1956 – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers.
- 1964 – Martin Luther King, Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence.
- 1968 – An earthquake rated at 6.8 on the Richter scale destroys the Australian town of Meckering, Western Australia, and it also ruptures all nearby main highways and railroads.
- 2006 – The college football brawl between University of Miami and Florida International University leads to suspensions of 31 players of both teams.
- 2014 – A snowstorm and avalanche in the Nepalese Himalayas triggered by the remnants of Cyclone Hudhud kills 43 people.
- 2015 – A suicide bomb attack in Pakistan, kills at least seven people and injures 13 others.
- 2017 – A massive truck bombing in Somalia kills 358 people and injures more than 400 others.
- 2021 – About 10,000 American employees of John Deere go on strike.[20]
- 2023 – Australians vote to reject a constitutional amendment that would have established an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
BIRTHS:
- 1882 – Charlie Parker, English cricketer, coach, and umpire (d. 1959)
- 1911 – Lê Đức Thọ, Vietnamese general and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
- 1914 – Raymond Davis, Jr., American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
- 1931 – Nikhil Banerjee, Indian sitar player and composer (d. 1986)
- 1940 – Cliff Richard, Indian-English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1941 – Jerry Glanville, American football player and coach
- 1968 – Matthew Le Tissier, English footballer and journalist
- 1974 – Samuel José da Silva Vieira, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 – Michael Duberry, English footballer
- 1976 – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1977 – Saeed Ajmal, Pakistani cricketer
- 1978 – Javon Walker, American football player
- 1990 – Jordan Clark, English cricketer
- 1993 – Ashton Agar, Australian cricketer
- 1994 – Jaelen Feeney, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Jared Goff, American football player
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
