EVENTS:
- 1844 – The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
- 1860 – Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
- 1900 – The British Labour Party is founded.
- 1961 – The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.
- 1973 – The American Indian Movement (AIM) occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
- 1991 – Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that “Kuwait is liberated”.
- 1995 – Zakho: A terrorist explosion in a market in the city of Zakho leaves about 100 dead and 150 wounded.
- 2002 – Godhra train burning: A Muslim mob torches a train returning from Ayodhya, killing 59 Hindu pilgrims.
- 2010 – An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale strikes central parts of Chile leaving over 500 victims, and thousands injured. The quake triggered a tsunami which struck Hawaii shortly after.
- 2013 – At least 19 people are killed when a fire breaks out at an illegal market in Kolkata, India.
- 2013 – Five people (including the perpetrator) are killed and five others injured in a shooting at a factory in Menznau, Switzerland.
- 2015 – Assassination of Boris Nemtsov occurs.
- 2019 – Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder downs Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman‘s Mig-21 in an aerial dogfight and captures him after conducting airstrikes in Jammu and Kashmir.
BIRTHS:
- 1902 – John Steinbeck, American journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- 1912 – Kusumagraj, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1999)
- 1912 – Lawrence Durrell, Indian-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1990)
- 1926 – David H. Hubel, Canadian-American neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Raymond Berry, American football player and coach
- 1936 – Ron Barassi, Australian footballer and coach
- 1942 – Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1944 – Graeme Pollock, South African cricketer and coach
- 1976 – Tony Gonzalez, American football player and sportscaster
- 1978 – James Beattie, English footballer and manager
- 1981 – Cameron Ling, Australian footballer and sportscaster
- 1987 – Scott Davies, English footballer
- 1988 – Iain Ramsay, Australian footballer
- 1992 – Jonjo Shelvey, English footballer
- 1992 – Callum Wilson, English footballer
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
- Anosmia Awareness Day (International observance)
- Doctors’ Day (Vietnam)
- International Polar Bear Day
- Marathi Language Day (Maharashtra, India)
- National Strawberry Day
