1918 - The announcement of the new Sultan of Turkey in Constantinople.
1934 - Polish-French physicist and Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie passed away.
1943 - Polish statesman and Prime Minister Władysław Sikorski, who led the government from exile during World War II, was killed in a plane crash.
1946 - The Philippines gained independence from the United States.
1976 - An Israeli commando unit carried out an operation at Entebbe Airport in Uganda, rescuing over 100 hostages held by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two German nationals after they hijacked an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris.
1994 - French President François Mitterrand became the first foreign leader to address the Parliament of South Africa after the end of apartheid.
1997 - The American probe "Pathfinder" landed on Mars.
2002 - Dani Bachmann, born in India, took the oath of office in the Swiss Guard, which has protected popes for nearly 500 years.
2003 - Veteran American singer Barry White (58 years old), whose real name was Barry Eugene Carter, known as the "King of Disco" in the 1970s, passed away. He won a Grammy Award in 2000. His notable songs include "Can't Get Enough of Your Love" and "You the First, The Last, My Everything."
2004 - Families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks joined New York City Mayor to lay the granite cornerstone of the "Freedom Tower" at the site of the destroyed World Trade Center.
2007 - BBC journalist Alan Johnston was released after being held hostage in Gaza for nearly 5 months, following an agreement between Hamas and the kidnappers who were affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
