The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people, Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Hurricane Kyrill, causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe.

The Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France

A bushfire kills 4 people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.

Sierra Leone Civil War is finally declared over.

The Tagish Lake meteorite impacts the Earth.

Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the story of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair on his website The Drudge Report.

Boerge Ousland of Norway becomes the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided.

In north west Rwanda, Hutu militia members kill 3 Spanish aid workers, 3 soldiers and seriously wound one other.

The Cando event, a possible bolide impact in Cando, Spain. Witnesses claim to have seen a fireball in the sky lasting for almost one minute.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in all 50 states.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.

The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals to his family.

The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.

Australia's worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.

Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease.

A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.

United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay killing all 32 passengers and six crew members.

Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler", is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment.

Willie O'Ree, the first African Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut.

Battle of Yijiangshan is fought.

Liberation of the Budapest ghetto by the Red Army.

Soviet forces liberate Leningrad, effectively ending a three year Nazi siege, known as the Siege of Leningrad.

The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.

World War II: British troops launch a general counter-offensive against Italian East Africa.

World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.

Bentley Motors Limited is founded.

A 611 gram chondrite type meteorite strikes a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri.

Japan issues the "Twenty-One Demands" to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.

A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos during the First Balkan War, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.

Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the {{USS|Pennsylvania|ACR-4|6}} stationed in San Francisco harbor, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.

President Theodore Roosevelt sends a radio message to King Edward VII: the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.

The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time.

Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.

Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom.

Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed the first German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles ( France ) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The empire is known as the Second Reich to Germans.

Wesley College, Melbourne is established.

American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in seceding from the United States.

The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrives at Botany Bay.

James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands".

Representatives of the New Hampshire Grants declare the independence of the Vermont Republic from Britain.

Frederick I becomes King of Prussia.

Henry Morgan captures Panama.

King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Minchit Sra of Burma in single combat, for which this date is now observed marked as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.

Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.

Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Lima, the capital of Peru.

King Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats the Swedes at Lake Åsunden.

King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.

Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.

Nika riots in Constantinople fail.

Leo II briefly becomes Byzantine emperor.

Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor.