211 – Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta
960 – Coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of the Song, initiating three centuries of Song Dynasty dominance in southern China
1789 – 1st US electoral college chooses George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice-President
1859 – One of the oldest known copies of the Bible, “The Codex Sinaiticus” (Sinai Bible), is seen in Egypt by Constantin von Tischendorf who takes the manuscript home with him
1865 – Robert E. Lee is named general-in-chief of Confederate forces
1969 – The Palestine National Congress appoints Yasser Arafat chairman of the PLO
1988 – Panamanian General Manuel Noriega indicted by US federal grand jury for drug trafficking and racketeering
1997 – After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Milošević recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections.
1998 – An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000
1999 – Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city.
2000 – German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion in connection with the sabotage of German railway lines.
2003 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution.
2004 – Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room
2013 – Europol announces it will investigate over 680 football matches alleged to involve match fixing
2014 – Same-sex marriage is legalized in Scotland
Film & TV:
1970 – “Patton” directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring George C. Scott premieres in New York (Academy Awards Best Picture 1971)
Music:
1977 – “Rumours” 11th studio album by Fleetwood Mac is released (Grammy Album of the Year)
Sport:
1991 – NZ cricketers Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones make a world record 467 run stand, against Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve in Wellington
