1948 - David Ben-Gurion declared the State of Israel, eight hours before the end of the British mandate over Palestine.
1955 - The Warsaw Pact was signed by the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.
1987 - American film actress Rita Hayworth, famous for her roles in "Blood and Sand" and "Gilda", passed away.
1989 - Tens of thousands demonstrated for democratic reforms in Beijing, on the eve of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to China.
1998 - American singer and artist Frank Sinatra died.
2001 - Silvio Berlusconi won the general elections leading a center-right coalition, forming Italy's 59th government since 1945.
2003 - Algerian armed forces released 17 European tourists who had been kidnapped by Islamist militants for two months in the Sahara Desert.
2004 - The Constitutional Court in South Korea reinstated President Roh Moo-hyun, overturning the parliament's vote for his impeachment.
2005 - Former European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy was announced as the next president of the World Trade Organization after the withdrawal of his only remaining competitor.
2006 - Idriss Déby was declared the winner of the presidential elections in Chad, securing a third term for five years.
2011 - Manchester United was crowned champions of England for the nineteenth time.
