640 – John IV begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1515 – Thomas Wolsey appointed Lord Chancellor of England
1893 – Henry Ford completes his first useful petrol / gasoline fuelled engine
1953 – Wellington-Auckland (NZ) express train swept away in flood kills 166
1954 – Laos gains its independence
1954 – Council for the Protection of Children forms in Netherlands
1967 – Pirate Radio Pegasus starts broadcasting off New Zealand
1986 – French hostage Aurel Cornea, held in Lebanon for 9 months, released
1994 – Four Muslim fundamentalists capture Air France pilot in Algiers
2000 – The Texas 7 hold up a sports store in Irving, Texas. Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot during the robbery