607 – Boniface III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1945 – 980 Japanese soldiers reportedly killed by crocodiles in 2 days on Ramree Island, Burma
1949 – 1st Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Ezra Pound
1952 – American defending champion Dick Button becomes first figure-skater to land a triple jump in competition; performs a triple loop in the Olympic free skate in Oslo; wins gold medal ahead of Austria’s Helmut Seibt
1960 – Protest strike in Poznan, Poland
1972 – The Asama-Sanso hostage standoff begins in Japan.
1977 – Right wing Rod Gilbert scores a goal and adds an assist in a 5-2 defeat at the NY Islanders to become first player in NY Rangers history (11th in NHL) to score 1,000 career points
1977 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1978 – Brigitte Kraus runs world record 1000 m indoor (2:34.8)
1978 – 20th Daytona 500: Bobby Allison takes lead with 11 laps remaining; lowest starting position (33rd) for winner until 2007