1854 – Allen Wilson of Conn patents sewing machine to sew curving seams
1884 – Italy recognizes King Leopold II’s Congo Free State
1933 – Electric Home and Farm Authority Inc, authorized
1948 – 8th largest snowfall in NYC history (15.3″)
1948 – Cleveland Browns beats Buffalo Bills 49-7 in AAFC championship game
1949 – Luxury passenger ship Aquitania demolished in Gareloch, Scotland
1965 – French President De Gaulle re-elected (Mitterrand gets 45%)
1978 – Indira Gandhi ambushed in India
1981 – Sixteen lives are lost when the Penlee, Cornwall, lifeboat goes to the aid of the stricken coaster Union Star in heavy seas.
1984 – China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC