1915 - The British passenger ship Lusitania sank by a German submarine, which contributed to the United States entering World War I, resulting in the deaths of 1,198 passengers and crew.
1942 - Austrian conductor and composer Felix Weingartner, known for his interpretations of Wagner and Beethoven, passed away.
1945 - Instruments of surrender for German forces in World War II were signed by General Alfred Jodl, Chief of the German General Staff, at the headquarters of American General Dwight Eisenhower in Reims, France.
2001 - Ronnie Biggs, who participated in the "Great Train Robbery" in Britain in 1963, voluntarily ended 35 years of evasion by returning to Britain from Brazil.
2002 - Chinese tightrope walkers broke the record by spending 22 days on high wires.
2003 - The United States added the Basque nationalist party Batasuna and its predecessors to the list of terrorist organizations.
2005 - Nobel laureate David Trimble, architect of the 1998 peace agreement in Northern Ireland, stepped down as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party after losing his seat and experiencing poor electoral performance in the general elections in Britain.
2007 - Isabella Blow, the renowned British fashion editor and style icon, died at the age of 48.
2008 - Dmitry Medvedev was sworn in as President of Russia and appointed his predecessor Vladimir Putin as Prime Minister, resulting in an unprecedented period of dual rule.
2009 - Mickey Carroll, one of the last surviving "Munchkins" from the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz," passed away at the age of 89 from natural causes.
2015 - Alex Rodriguez, designated hitter for the New York Yankees, achieved his 661st career home run, surpassing the record previously held by Willie Mays.
