• 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
• 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders.
• 1717 - The Loves of Mars and Venus becomes the first ballet performed in England.
• 1791 - Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
• 1807 - The U.S. Congress passes an act to "prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States... from any foreign kingdom, place, or country."
• 1808 - The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, was held in Edinburgh.
• 1815 - Signing of Kandyan treaty by British invaders and Sri Lankan King.
• 1836 - Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
• 1855 - Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
• 1861 - Nevada Territory and Dakota Territory are organized as political divisions of the United States.
• 1861 - Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia: Tsar Alexander II signed the emancipation reform into law, abolishing Russian serfdom.
• 1863 - The United States Congress authorizes track width of for Union Pacific Railroad
• 1865 - Second Taranaki War: The Volkner Incident in New Zealand.
• 1867 - The United States Congress passed the 1st Reconstruction Act
• 1877 - U.S. presidential election, 1876: Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on November 7, 1876.
• 1888 - The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.
• 1896 - Ethiopia defeats Italy in the Battle of Adwa, marking the first victory of an African nation over a colonial power.
• 1899 - In the state of Washington, USA, Mount Rainier National Park is established.
• 1901 - The United States Congress passes the Platt amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops.
• 1903 - In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
• 1917 - The enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
• 1917 - (Old Style) - Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Michael II of Russia.
• 1919 - The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
• 1937 - The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a surprise collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
• 1939 - Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
• 1941 - World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joined the Axis Pact.
• 1943 - World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea - United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
• 1943 - 173 people die in the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster, London, the worst civilian disaster of World War 2.
• 1946 - Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
• 1949 - Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
• 1949 - The first automatic street light was installed in New Milford, Conn..
• 1953 - The Academy Awards are first broadcast on television by NBC.
• 1955 - King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia abdicates the throne in favor of his father, King Norodom Suramarit.
• 1956 - Morocco declares its independence from France.
• 1962 - In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup.
• 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by tallying 100 points.
• 1969 - In Toulouse, France the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
• 1969 - Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River.
• 1970 - Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
• 1972 - The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
• 1978 - Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he's launched aboard Soyuz 28.
• 1989 - Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
• 1990 - Nelson Mandela elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
• 1991 - Battle at Rumaila Oil Field brings end to the 1991 Gulf War.
• 1992 - Moldova joins the United Nations.
• 1998 - Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
• 2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
• 2003 - The first International Symposium on Taiwan Sign Language Linguistics is held at Chung Cheng University.
• 2004 - Voters in the U.S. state of Georgia vote on a referendum concerning its Confederacy-derived flag.
• 2004 - War in Iraq: Al Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
• 2008 - Riots in Yerevan, Armenia concerning the Armenian presidential election, 2008 come to a fatal end, with police forces clashing with civilians in their peaceful protest, resulting in 8 deaths.

Births