The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments, causing more than $2 billion in damage.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium opens in Monterey Bay, California.

During the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem, 66 people are crushed to death in the Luzhniki disaster.

The John F. Kennedy library is opened in Boston, Massachusetts.

A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines along with backup singer Cassie Gaines, the road manager, pilot, and co-pilot.

The ferry ''George Prince'' is struck by a ship while crossing the Mississippi River between Destrehan and Luling, Louisiana. Seventy-eight passengers and crew die and only 18 people aboard the ferry survive.

"Saturday Night Massacre": President Richard Nixon fires U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus after they refuse to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who is finally fired by Robert Bork.

The Sydney Opera House opens.

The Nepal Stock Exchange collapses.

Siad Barre declares Somalia a socialist state.

Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.

A purported bigfoot is filmed by Patterson and Gimlin.

Governor Evelyn Baring declares a state of emergency in Kenya and begins arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising, including Jomo Kenyatta, the future first President of Kenya.

The "Johnny Bright Incident" occurs in Stillwater, Oklahoma

The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its investigation into Communist infiltration of Hollywood, resulting in a blacklist that prevents some from working in the industry for years.

United States of America and Pakistan establish diplomatic relations for the first time.

The Soviet Army and Yugoslav Partisans liberate Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia

Liquid natural gas leaks from storage tanks in Cleveland, then explodes; the explosion and resulting fire level 30 blocks and kill 130.

General Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines when he commands an Allied assault on the islands, reclaiming them from the Japanese during the Second World War.

World War II: Thousands of civilians in Kragujevac in German-occupied Serbia are killed in the Kragujevac massacre.

The Long March ends.

The hull of the {{RMS|Olympic}}, sister-ship to the ill-fated {{RMS|Titanic}}, is launched from the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Peru and Chile signed the Treaty of Ancón, by which the Tarapacá province is ceded to the latter, bringing an end to Peru's involvement in the War of the Pacific.

Battle of Navarino

The Convention of 1818 signed between the United States and the United Kingdom which, among other things, settled the Canada – United States border on the 49th parallel for most of its length.

The United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.

Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in Habsburg Monarchy.

Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.

The city of Nuestra Senora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace) was founded by Captain Alonso de Mendoza by appointment of the king of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.