3340 BC – Earliest believed record of an eclipse.
1707 – The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the British to capture Pensacola, Florida.
1718 – King Charles XII of Sweden dies during a siege of the fortress of Fredriksten in Norway.
1864 – The Confederate Army of Tennessee led by General John Bell Hood mounts a dramatically unsuccessful frontal assault on Union positions commanded by John McAllister Schofield around Franklin, Tennessee, with Hood losing six generals and almost a third of his troops.
1868 – A statue of King Charles XII of Sweden is inaugurated in Stockholm's Kungsträdgården.
1908 – A mine explosion in Marianna, Pennsylvania, kills 154.
1916 – Costa Rica signs the Buenos Aires Convention, a copyright treaty.
1934 – The LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman becomes the first steam locomotive to be authenticated as reaching 100 mph.
1954 – In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap. This is the only documented case in the Western Hemisphere of a human being hit by a rock from space.
1982 – Michael Jackson's second solo album, Thriller is released worldwide. It will become the best-selling record album in history.
1993 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (the Brady Bill) into law.
1999 – In Seattle, United States, demonstrations against a World Trade Organization meeting by anti-globalization protesters catch police unprepared and force the cancellation of opening ceremonies.
2001 – In Renton, Washington, United States, Gary Ridgway (aka The Green River Killer) is arrested.
2004 – Longtime Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings of Salt Lake City, finally loses, leaving him with US$2,520,700, television's biggest game show winnings.