The 2008 Greek riots break out upon the murder of a 15-year-old boy, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, by a police officer.

NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.

Several villagers are shot dead during protests in Dongzhou, China.

The Canadian province of Newfoundland is renamed Newfoundland and Labrador.

Hugo Chávez Frías, Venezuelan military officer and politician, is elected President of Venezuela.

A Russian Antonov An-124 transport cargo plane crashes into an apartment complex near Irkutsk, Siberia, killing 67.

Extremist Hindu activists Demolition of Babri Masjid|demolish Babri Masjid

In Croatia, forces of the Yugoslav People's Army bombard Dubrovnik after laying siege to the city since May.

The École Polytechnique Massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal.

The Australian Capital Territory is granted self-government.

Droppin Well bombing: The Irish National Liberation Army detonate a bomb in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing eleven British soldiers and six civilians.

Spain approves its latest constitution in a referendum.

South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country.

Balcombe Street Siege: An IRA Active Service Unit takes a couple hostage in Balcombe Street, London.

The Twenty-fifth Amendment: The United States House of Representatives votes 387 to 35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States (on November 27, the Senate confirmed him 92 to 3).

Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India following New Delhi's recognition of Bangladesh.

Meredith Hunter is killed by the Hells Angels during a The Rolling Stones's concert at the Altamont Speedway in California.

Pakistan's Islamic Ideology Advisory Committee recommends that Islamic Studies be made a compulsory subject for Muslim students from primary to graduate level.

Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit.

A violent water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

The Everglades National Park in Florida is dedicated.

World War II: The United Kingdom declares war on Finland in support of the Soviet Union during the Continuation War.

U.S. federal judge John M. Woolsey rules that the James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' is not obscene.

One year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State comes into existence.

The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives.

Halifax Explosion: In Canada, a munitions explosion kills more than 1,900 people and destroys part of the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Finland declares independence from Russia.

World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest.

A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia kills 362 workers.

London becomes the world's first city to host licenced taxicabs.

The Washington Monument in Washington D.C. is completed.

Thomas Edison, first human voice recorded, {Mary had a little lamb.}

The first edition of the ''Washington Post'' is published.

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, banning slavery.

American abolitionist Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery.

Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is founded at Yale College.

The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The first edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' is published.

Charles Edward Stewart's army begins retreat during the second Jacobite Rising.

Battle of Chamkaur

Colonel Pride of the New Model Army purges the Long Parliament of MPs sympathetic to King Charles I of England, in order for the King's trial to go ahead; came to be known as "Pride's Purge".

The city of Quito in Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers led by Sebastián de Belalcázar.

Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev under Danylo of Halych and Voivode Dmytro falls to the Mongols under Batu Khan.

Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary