Events

• 1512 – The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regard to native Indians in the New World.
• 1655 – Second Northern War/the Deluge: Monks at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa are successful in fending off a month-long siege.
• 1703 – Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty (a military and commercial treaty) which allows Portugal to export wines to England on favourable trade terms.
• 1814 – War of 1812: The destruction of the schooner USS Carolina brings to an end Commodore Daniel Patterson’s makeshift fleet, which fought a series of delaying actions that contributed to Andrew Jackson’s victory at the Battle of New Orleans.
• 1831 – Charles Darwin embarks on his journey aboard HMS Beagle, during which he will begin to formulate his theory of evolution.
• 1845 – Ether anesthetic is used for childbirth for the first time by Dr. Crawford Long in Jefferson, Georgia.
• 1845 – Having coined the phrase “manifest destiny” the previous July, journalist John L. O’Sullivan argued in his newspaper New York Morning News that the United States had the right to claim the entire Oregon Country.
• 1918 – The Great Poland Uprising against the Germans begins.
• 1918 – Ukrainian War of Independence: The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine occupies Yekaterinoslav and seizes seven airplanes from the UPRAF, establishing an Insurgent Air Fleet.
• 1922 – Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō becomes the first purpose built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world.
• 1939 – Winter War: Finland holds off a Soviet attack in the Battle of Kelja.
• 1949 – Indonesian National Revolution: The Netherlands officially recognises Indonesian independence.
  • End of the Dutch East Indies.
• 1978 – Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of fascist dictatorship (Refer to Spanish Civil War).
• 1985 – Palestinian guerrillas kill eighteen people inside the airports of Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria.
• 1989 – The Romanian Revolution concludes, as the last minor street confrontations and stray shootings abruptly end in the country’s capital, Bucharest.
• 1996 – Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Airfield which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul, Afghanistan.
• 1997 – The Troubles: Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland, UK.
• 2008 – Operation Cast Lead: Israel launches three-week operation on Gaza.

People (Births)

• 1595 – Bohdan Khmelnytsky, hetman of Ukraine, military commander (d. 1657).
• 1715 – Philippe de Noailles, French general (d. 1794).
• 1761 – Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian field marshal and politician, Governor-General of Finland (d. 1818).
• 1776 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (d. 1811).
• 1892 – Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian captain and pilot (d. 1917).
• 1916 – Werner Baumbach, German military pilot (d. 1953).
• 1917 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (d. 2009).
• 1919 – Charles Sweeney, American general and pilot (d. 2004).
• 1924 – James A. McClure, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2011).
• 1936 – Eve Uusmees, Estonian swimmer and coach.
• 1947 – Osman Pamukoğlu, Turkish general and politician.
• 1947 – Willy Polleunis, Belgian runner.
• 1956 – Doina Melinte, Romanian runner.
• 1975 – Aigars Fadejevs, Latvian race walker and therapist.
• 1981 – Moise Joseph, American-Haitian runner.
• 1992 – Maicel Uibo, Estonian decathlete.

People (Deaths)

• 1704 – Hans Albrecht von Barfus, Prussian field marshal and politician (b. 1635).
• 1776 – Johann Rall, Hessian colonel (b. c. 1726).
• 1836 – Stephen F. Austin, American soldier and politician (b. 1793).
• 1900 – William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, English engineer and businessman, founded Armstrong Whitworth (b. 1810).
• 1943 – Ants Kurvits, Estonian general and politician, 10th Estonian Minister of War (b. 1887).
• 1953 – Şükrü Saracoğlu, Turkish soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1887).
• 1955 – Alfred Carpenter, English admiral, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1881).
• 1978 – Houari Boumediene, Algerian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Algeria (b. 1932).
• 1982 – Jack Swigert, American pilot, astronaut, and politician (b. 1931).
• 1997 – Billy Wright, Northern Irish loyalist leader (b. 1960).
• 2011 – Michael Dummett, English soldier, philosopher, and academic (b. 1925).
• 2012 – Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., American general and engineer (b. 1934).
• 2013 – John Matheson, Canadian colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1917).
• 2018 – Frank Blaichman, Polish resistance fighter (b. 1922).