814 – Charlemagne dies of pleurisy in Aachen as the first Holy Roman Emperor. He is succeeded by his son Louis the Pious as king of the Frankish Empire.
1724 – The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
1871 – Franco-Prussian War: the Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first daily college newspaper in the United States.
1915 – An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces.
1934 – The first ski tow in the United States begins operation in Vermont.
1960 – The National Football League announced expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for 1961 NFL season.
1979 – Pope John Paul II starts his first pastoral visit to Mexico.
1982 – US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
1986 – STS-51-L mission – Space Shuttle Challenger explodes after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
2010 – Five murderers of President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh are hung.
