1527 – Florence becomes a republic
1922 – White Star Liner Majestic completes 5½ day maiden voyage
1952 – “New Faces (of 1952)” opens at Royale Theater NYC for 365 performances
1969 – USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh, Semipalitinsk USSR
1974 – Helmut Schmidt becomes West German Chancellor
1985 – Pope John Paul II arrives in Belgium
1997 – Brook Mehealani Lee, 26, of US crowned 46th Miss Universe
2002 – “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones” directed by George Lucas, starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman opens in cinemas
2006 – A large earthquake (7.4 on the Richter scale) occurs near New Zealand
2013 – Pope Francis calls for ethical financial reform to fight speculation