Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster.

A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit crashes on Guam. It is the first operational loss of a B-2.

A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 22. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.

Dubai Ports World agrees to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism.

The controversial French law on colonialism is passed, requiring teachers to teach the "positive values of colonialism". After public outcry, it is repealed at the beginning of 2006.

In Slovakia, a two-day meeting dubbed "Slovakia Summit 2005" takes place between U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This occasion marks the first visit of a sitting American President to the Slovak Republic since its establishment in 1993.

An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31.

Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.

Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and "Crusaders"; the latter term is commonly interpreted to refer to the people of Europe and the United States.

In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42.

A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir.

The Socialist Labour Party is founded in the nation of Georgia.

In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.

Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.

Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.

The Spanish Socialist government of Felipe González and Miguel Boyer nationalizes Rumasa, a holding company founded by entrepreneur José María Ruiz Mateos.

In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.

The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.

In Syria, Baath party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin Hafiz, also a Baathist.

Cuban rebels kidnap 5-time world driving champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

The founding congress of the Senegalese Popular Bloc is opened in Dakar.

First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).

The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.

World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a commonly forgotten U.S. Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag. The photo would later win a Pulitzer Prize and become the model for the national USMC War Memorial.

World War II: The 11th Airborne Division, with Filipino guerrillas, free the captives of the Los Baños internment camp.

World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by American forces.

World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.

World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is completely destroyed in a raid by 379 British bombers.

World War II: The Verona Philharmonic Theatre is bombed by Allied forces. It would later be re-opened in 1975.

The Soviet Union begins the forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.

A fire breaks out at St. Joseph's Orphanage, Co Cavan, Ireland, killing 36 people (35 of whom are children).

Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.

Leopold III becomes King of Belgium.

The Federal Radio Commission (later renamed the Federal Communications Commission) begins to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.

First victory of Red Army over the Kaiser's German troops near Narva and Pskov. In honor of this victory, the date is celebrated from 1923 onward as "Red Army Day"; it is renamed Defender of the Fatherland Day after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and is colloquially known as "Men's Day".

First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution.

The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.

Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world's first service club.

Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".

In South Africa, Boers and British troops fight in the Battle of Hart's Hill.

Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing "J'accuse", a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.

The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.

Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister Julia Brainerd Hall.

Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law.

In the United States, post-Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.

President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.

The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.

Mexican-American War: Battle of Buena Vista

The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.

Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.

American Revolution: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.

Richard Palmer is identified at York Castle, by his former schoolteacher, as the outlaw Dick Turpin.

Charles XI becomes King of Sweden.

Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.

The Last Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada') of prophet Muhammad.