| 1991 - | The civil war in El Salvador ended |
|
| 1990 - | Titleholder Gary Kasparov of the USSR won the world chess championship match against his countryman Anatoly Karpov |
|
| 1981 - | A new mystery illness in the US was found to destroy the immune system |
|
| 1974 - | Popular Electronics displayed the first affordable home computer - the Altair 8800 |
|
| 1973 - | The three day working week began in the UK |
|
| 1964 - | Donald Campbell set a new water speed record |
|
| 1960 - | The farthing coin, which had been in use in Great Britain since the 13th century, ceased to be legal tender |
|
| 1960 - | The farthing coin ceased to be legal tender in Britain |
|
| 1938 - | The breath test for drunk drivers began in Britain |
|
| 1923 - | The chimes of Big Ben, London, UK, were first broadcast by the BBC |
|
| 1923 - | The chimes of Big Ben were broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC |
|
| 1911 - | Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize |
|
| 1910 - | US tobacco industry produced 9 billion cigarettes in 1910 |
|
| 1907 - | For 1st time a ball drops at Times Square to signal new year |
|
| 1907 - | G Mahler conducts the Metropolitan Opera |
|
| 1906 - | French/British/Italian treaty concerning rights on Abyssinia |
|
| 1902 - | Boers and British army sign peace treaty |
|
| 1891 - | A new immigration depot was opened on Ellis Island, New York |
|
| 1719 - | John Flamsteed, first Astronomer Royal, died |
|
