1901 - The Boxer Rebellion, which sought to expel all foreigners from China, officially ended with the signing of the Boxer Protocol.
1940 - The German Air Force, led by Hermann Göring, began the "Blitz" bombing campaign on London. More than 300 people were killed on this day alone.
1978 - Keith Moon, the drummer of the British rock band The Who, died from a drug overdose.
1986 - Leftist opponents ambushed the convoy of former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet with a bazooka in a failed assassination attempt.
1994 - The last Stars and Stripes flag was lowered at the U.S. Army headquarters in Berlin, officially ending American presence in the city after nearly half a century.
1997 - Former Zaire dictator Mobutu Sese Seko died in exile in Morocco, having been ousted by a rebellion led by Laurent Kabila.
2001 - Violence erupted between Christians and Muslims in the Nigerian city of Jos, resulting in the burning of churches and mosques. According to the Red Cross, at least 500 people were killed and hundreds injured in under a week of unrest.
2002 - 49 Nepali police officers were killed by Maoist rebels fighting to overthrow the constitutional monarchy in the country during an attack on a police station in eastern Nepal.
2004 - White South African clergyman Beyers Naudé, a rare public symbol of white opposition during apartheid years, died at the age of 89.
2004 - The number of American fatalities in Iraq reached 1,000, about 18 months after the U.S.-led invasion that overthrew President Saddam Hussein.
2008 - The U.S. government took control of the largest mortgage finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
