1926 - Joseph Pilsudski led a successful military coup in Poland.
1943 - German commander in North Africa, General von Arnim, surrendered during World War II.
2001 - American singer Perry Como passed away after six decades of success and fame, noted for performances of songs such as "Catch a Falling Star" and "It's Impossible."
2002 - Former American President Jimmy Carter arrived in Havana on a private visit, the highest-ranking American figure to visit since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959.
2006 - 200 people died in Lagos, Nigeria, due to an oil pipeline explosion caused by thieves trying to steal fuel.
2006 - American Justin Gatlin set a new world record in the 100 meters, clocking in at 9.76 seconds.
2008 - A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan province, devastating southwest China and resulting in nearly 70,000 deaths.
2008 - American artist Robert Rauschenberg died at the age of 82.
2008 - Irena Sendler, a Polish woman who saved thousands of Jewish children during World War II by smuggling them out of the Warsaw ghetto, passed away.
2014 - Narendra Modi won the largest elections in the world in India.
2015 - An Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia.
