Events

• AD 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba.
  • They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.
• 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire.
• 1492 – Reconquista: The Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.
• 1680 – Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram and his bodyguards execute the rebel leader Trunajaya, a month after the rebel leader was captured by the Dutch East India Company.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.
• 1791 – Big Bottom massacre in the Ohio Country, North America, marking the beginning of the Northwest Indian War.
• 1865 – Uruguayan War: The Siege of Paysandú ends as the Brazilians and Coloradans capture Paysandú, Uruguay.
• 1900 – American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
• 1920 – The second Palmer Raid, ordered by the US Department of Justice, results in 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists being arrested and held without trial.
• 1941 – World War II: The Cardiff Blitz severely damages the cathedral in Cardiff, Wales.
• 1942 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) obtains the conviction of 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history – the Duquesne Spy Ring.
• 1942 – World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces, enabling them to control the Philippines.
• 1955 – Following the assassination of the Panamanian president José Antonio Remón Cantera, his deputy, José Ramón Guizado, takes power, but is quickly deposed after his involvement in Cantera’s death is discovered.
• 1963 – Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.
• 1978 – On the orders of the President of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, paramilitary forces opened fire on peaceful protesting workers in Multan, Pakistan; it is known as 1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills.
• 1993 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35–100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.
• Victory of Armed Forces Day (Cuba).

People (Births)

• 1647 – Nathaniel Bacon, English-American rebel leader (d. 1676).
• 1727 – James Wolfe, English general (d. 1759).
• 1885 – Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918).
• 1896 – Lawrence Wackett, Australian commander and engineer (d. 1982).
• 1902 – Dan Keating, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 2007).
• 1944 – Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian field marshal and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia.
• 1974 – Ludmila Formanová, Czech runner.

People (Deaths)

• 1169 – Bertrand de Blanchefort, sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1109).
• 1470 – Heinrich Reuß von Plauen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.
• 1904 – James Longstreet, American general and diplomat (b. 1821).
• 1917 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (b. 1877).
• 1975 – Siraj Sikder, Bangladesh revolutionary leader (b. 1944).
• 1990 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister for National Defence (b. 1910).
• 1995 – Siad Barre, Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (b. 1919).
• 2000 – Elmo Zumwalt, American admiral (b. 1920).
• 2001 – William P. Rogers, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (b. 1913).