EVENTS:
- 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
- 1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
- 1896 – The deadliest tsunami in Japan’s history kills more than 22,000 people.
- 1937 – A German expedition led by Karl Wien loses sixteen members in an avalanche on Nanga Parbat. It is the worst single disaster to occur on an 8000m peak.
- 1991 – In the Philippines, Mount Pinatubo erupts in the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th Century. In the end, over 800 people die.
- 2012 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to successfully tightrope walk over Niagara Falls.
- 2013 – A bomb explodes on a bus in the Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least 25 people and wounding 22 others.
- 2014 – Pakistan formally launches military operation against the insurgents in North Waziristan.
- 2022 – Microsoft retires its ubiquitous Internet Explorer after 26 years in favor of its new browser, Microsoft Edge.
BIRTHS:
- 1915 – Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
- 1916 – Herbert A. Simon, American political scientist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
- 1917 – John Fenn, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Ibn-e-Insha, Indian-Pakistani poet (d. 1978)
- 1932 – Zia Fariduddin Dagar, Indian singer (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Anna Hazare, Indian social activist
- 1979 – Christian Rahn, German footballer
- 1982 – Katie Chapman, English footballer
- 1982 – Abdur Razzak, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1984 – Luke Hodge, Australian footballer
- 1993 – Jacopo Galimberti, Italian footballer
