- 1947 - The Prime Minister of Burma and independence leader U Nu was assassinated along with six other ministers.
- 1965 - The first President of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, died.
- 1980 - The 22nd Summer Olympics were opened in Moscow, boycotted by more than 40 countries in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
- 1992 - A car bomb explosion killed a prominent anti-mafia judge in Palermo, Sicily, Paolo Borsellino.
- 1996 - Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić resigned from his public office to pave the way for post-war elections in Bosnia.
- 1996 - Former boxing champion Muhammad Ali lit the torch inaugurating the centennial celebration of the Olympic Games.
- 2001 - British politician and novelist Jeffrey Archer was sentenced to four years in prison for perverting the course of justice.
- 2002 - British doctor Harold Shipman was revealed by an official inquiry to be one of the worst serial killers in the world, having killed at least 215 of his patients.
- 2002 - Greek police officially arrested Alexandros Giotopoulos, leader of the urban guerrilla group November 17, which was accused of killing 23 people.
- 2004 - Philippine troops withdrew from Iraq after the government capitulated to militants who had taken several Filipinos hostage, straining their alliance with the United States.
- 2015 - Thousands of health enthusiasts set a world record for the largest Zumba class, held on the main streets of Manila.
