| 1531 | | The Catholics defeat the Protestants at Kappel during Switzerland's second civil war. |
| 1540 | | Charles V of Milan puts his son Philip in control. |
| 1727 | |
George II of England crowned. |
| 1795 | |
In graditude for putting down a rebellion in the
streets of Paris, France's National Convention appoints Napoleon Bonaparte second
in command of the Army of the Interior. |
| 1862 | |
The Confederate Congress in Richmond passes a draft
law allowing anyone owning 20 or more slaves to be exempt from military service.
This law confirms many southerners opinion that they are in a 'rich man's war
and a poor man's fight.' |
| 1877 | | Outlaw Wild Bill Longley, who killed at least a dozen men, is hanged, but it took two tries; on the first try, the rope slipped and his knees drug the ground. |
| 1899 | | South African Boers, settler from the Netherlands, declare war on Great Britain. |
| 1906 | | San Francisco school board orders the segregation of Oriental schoolchildren, inciting Japanese outrage. |
| 1915 | |
Despite international protests, Edith Cavell, an
English nurse in Belgium, is executed by Germans for aiding the escape of Allied
prisoners. |
| 1942 | |
In the Battle of Cape Esperance, near the Solomon
Islands, U.S. cruisers and destroyers decisively defeat a Japanese task force
in a night surface encounter. |
| 1945 | | Negotiations between Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and Communist leader Mao Tse-tung break down. Nationalist and Communist troops are soon engaged in a civil war. |
| 1950 | | The Federal Communications Commission authorizes the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) to begin commercial color TV broadcasts. |
| 1962 | | Pope John XXIII opens the 21st Ecumenical Council (Vatican II) with a call for Christian unity. This is the largest gathering of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in history; among delegate-observers are representatives of major Protestant denominations, in itself a sign of sweeping change. |
| 1968 | |
Apollo 7, with three men aboard, is successfully
launched from Cape Kennedy. |
| 1972 | |
A French mission in Vietnam is destroyed by a U.S.
bombing raid. |
| 1976 | | The so-called "Gang of Four," Chairman Mao Tse-tung's widow and three associates, are arrested in Peking, setting in motion an extended period of turmoil in the Chinese Communist Party. |
| 1991 | | Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas begin. |
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