1789 - W.H. Brown's "Power of Sympathy" was published. It was the first American novel to be published.
1793 - During the French Revolution, King Louis XVI was executed on the guillotine. He had been condemned for treason.
1846 - The first issue of the "Daily News," edited by Charles Dickens, was published.
1853 - Dr. Russell L. Hawes patented the envelope folding machine.
1865 - An oil well was drilled by torpedoes for the first time.
1900 - Canadian troops set sail to fight in South Africa. The Boers had attacked Ladysmith on January 8, 1900.
1911 - The first Monte Carlo car rally was held. Seven days later by French it was won by Henri Rougier.
1924 - Soviet leader Vladimir Llyich Lenin died. Joseph Stalin began a purge of his rivals for the leadership of the Soviet Union.
1954 - The gas turbine automobile was introduced in New York City.
1970 - The Boeing 747 made its first commercial flight from New York to London for Pan American.