379 – Theodosius installed as co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire
1812 – Peninsular War: After a ten day siege, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, orders British soldiers of the Light and third divisions to storm Ciudad Rodrigo
1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey
1966 – Indira Gandhi elected India’s 4th Prime Minister
1968 – Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O’Neill calls for “a new endeavour by organisations in Northern Ireland to cross denominational barriers and advance the cause of better community relations”
1974 – China and South Vietnam clash over the Paracel Islands, resulting in a Chinese victory
1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW’s plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America would continue until 2003.
1981 – Muhammad Ali talks a despondent 21 year old out of committing suicide
1989 – President Reagan pardons George Steinbrenner for illegal funds for Nixon
1991 – Iraq files SCUD missiles at Tel Aviv and other cities in Israel during the Gulf War
2001 – Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán escapes from Puente Grande maximum-security prison near Guadalajara by bribing prison guards and hiding in a laundry cart
2006 – Terrorist blows himself up in Tel Aviv, killing only himself but injuring 20 people, one of them seriously
2012 – FBI shuts down Megaupload.com for alleged copyright infringement, hacker group Anonymous responds by attacking government and entertainment industry websites
2013 – Four climbers are killed by an avalanche in Glen Coe, Scotland
2013 – Calcium deposits are discovered on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity Rover
2017 – Adama Barrow sworn in as President of Gambia in Dahkar as Senegalese troops enter Gambia to persuade former President Yahya Jammeh to leave
2017 – Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is extradited to the United States to face trial for his leadership of the Sinaloa drug cartel
Film & TV:
1955 – “The Millionaire” TV program premieres on CBS
1961 – 1st episode of “Dick Van Dyke Show” is filmed
2001 – Cult film “Donnie Darko” written and directed by Richard Kelly, starring Jake Gyllenhaal premieres at the Sundance Film Festival
Music:
1853 – Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Il Trovatore” premieres in Rome
Sport:
2013 – Lance Armstrong admits to doping in all seven of his Tour de France victories
