1451 – Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire
1509 – The Battle of Diu, naval battle at port of Diu, India between Portugal and the Ottoman Empire, establishes Portuguese trading control
1870 – US state of Iowa ratifies the 15th Amendment of the United States Constitution allowing suffrage for all races & colour
1928 – Paleoanthropologist Davidson Black reports his findings on the ancient human fossils found at Zhoukoudian, China in the journal Nature and declares them to be a new species he names ‘Sinanthropus pekinensis’ (now known as ‘Homo erectus’)
1966 – 1st soft landing on Moon (Soviet Luna 9)
1978 – Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and US President Jimmy Carter discuss the Middle East peace process in Washington, D.C.
1980 – Mohammed Ali tours Africa as President Carter’s envoy
1986 – The Pope and Mother Teresa meet in Calcutta
1993 – Federal trial of 4 police officers charged with civil rights violations in videotaped beating of Rodney King begins in Los Angeles, California
1994 – President Bill Clinton lifts US trade embargo against Vietnam
2013 – 33 people are killed by a suicide bombing by an explosive-packed truck in Kirkuk, Iraq
2016 – US President Barack Obama visits his first US mosque – the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque in Maryland
2018 – Moscow has its heaviest snowfall in a day on record, killing one and bringing down 2,000 trees
2019 – Pope Francis arrives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on the first ever papal visit to the Arabian peninsula
2020 – Malawi’s constitutional court annuls 2019 election which saw President Peter Muth-arika reelected due to voting irregularities
2020 – Cruise ship Diamond Princess with 3700 passengers quarantined in Yokohama port, Japan after cases of COVID-19 found on board
2020 – First Democratic caucus in Iowa won narrowly by Pete Buttigieg (most delegates) and Bernie Sanders (most votes) after lengthy delays and irregularities in reporting the results
Film & TV:
1960 – “La Dolce Vita” directed by Federico Fellini and starring Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg has its film premiere in Italy
Music:
1959 – “The Day the Music Died” plane crash kills musicians Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, J. P. Richardson and pilot near Clear Lake, Iowa
1967 – “Purple Haze” recorded by Jimi Hendrix
Sport:
1876 – Albert Spalding invests $800 to start sporting goods company, manufacturing first official baseball, tennis ball, basketball, golf ball and football
