Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated.

Cicero

Byzantine Emperor Justin II retires due to recurring seizures of insanity. He abdicates the throne in favor of his general Tiberius, proclaiming him Caesar.

Justin IITiberius II ConstantineCaesar (title)

The Great Storm of 1703, the greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain, makes landfall. Winds gust up to 120 mph, and 9,000 people die.

Great Storm of 1703

Tumult of Thorn: Religious unrest is followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Toruń) by Polish authorities.

Tumult of Thorn (Toruń)ProtestantismToruń

The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, England.

Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, arranges to enter the American military as a major general.

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the United States Constitution.

DelawareUnited States Constitution

First concert of the New York Philharmonic, founded by Ureli Corelli Hill.

New York PhilharmonicUreli Corelli Hill

American outlaw Jesse James commits his first confirmed bank robbery in Gallatin, Missouri.

Jesse JamesGallatin, Missouri

Comparative fuel trials begin between warships HMS Spiteful and HMS Peterel: Spiteful was the first warship powered solely by fuel oil, and the trials led to the obsolescence of coal in ships of the Royal Navy.

WarshipHMS Spiteful (1899)HMS Peterel (1899)Fuel oilRoyal Navy

World War I: The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.

World War IAustria-Hungary

The Parliament of Northern Ireland votes to remain a part of the United Kingdom and not unify with Southern Ireland.

Parliament of Northern IrelandUnited KingdomSouthern Ireland (1921-22)

W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts telecasts video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers. The telecast also includes the first television commercial in the United States, an advertisement for I.J. Fox Furriers, who sponsored the radio show.

W1WXBostonCBSTelevision advertisement

Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton becomes the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.

CricketJack FingletonCentury (cricket)Test cricket

World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor: The Imperial Japanese Navy carries out a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (For Japan's near-simultaneous attacks on Eastern Hemisphere targets, see December 8.)

World War IIAttack on Pearl HarborImperial Japanese NavyUnited States Pacific FleetUnited States Army Air Forces

A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia kills 119 people, the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.

Winecoff Hotel fireAtlanta, Georgia

Chinese Civil War: The Government of the Republic of China moves from Nanking to Taipei, Taiwan.

Chinese Civil WarGovernment of the Republic of ChinaNanjingTaipeiTaiwan

Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils.

Rainier III, Prince of MonacoMonacoPrincipalityConstitution of Monaco

Instant replay makes its debut during the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Instant replayArmy-Navy GamePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania

Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I simultaneously revoke mutual excommunications that had been in place since 1054.

Pope Paul VIAthenagoras I of ConstantinopleCatholic-Orthodox Joint Declaration of 1965Excommunication1054

Pakistan President Yahya Khan announces the formation of a coalition government with Nurul Amin as Prime Minister and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as Deputy Prime Minister.

PakistanYahya KhanNurul AminZulfikar Ali Bhutto

Apollo 17, the last Apollo moon mission, is launched. The crew takes the photograph known as The Blue Marble as they leave the Earth.

Apollo 17Apollo programThe Blue Marble

In Texas, Charles Brooks, Jr., becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.

TexasCharles Brooks, Jr.Capital punishmentLethal injection

An Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 collides with an Aviaco DC-9 in dense fog while the two airliners are taxiing down the runway at Madrid-Barajas Airport, killing 93 people.

Iberia (airline)Boeing 727AviacoMcDonnell Douglas DC-9Madrid-Barajas Airport

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, a British Aerospace 146-200A, crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-boss traveling on the flight, then shoots both pilots and himself.

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771British Aerospace 146Paso Robles, California

The 6.8 Ms Armenian earthquake shakes the northern part of the country with a maximum MSK intensity of X (Devastating), killing 25,000-50,000 and injuring 31,000-130,000.

1988 Armenian earthquakeMedvedev-Sponheuer-Karnik scale

Long Island Rail Road shooting: Passenger Colin Ferguson murders six people and injures 19 others on the LIRR in Nassau County, New York.

1993 Long Island Rail Road shootingLong Island Rail RoadNassau County, New York

The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS-34.

Galileo (spacecraft)JupiterSpace Shuttle AtlantisSTS-34

A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.: The Recording Industry Association of America sues the peer-to-peer file-sharing service Napster, alleging copyright infringement.

A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 114 F.Supp.2d 896Recording Industry Association of AmericaPeer-to-peerFile sharingNapster

The Conservative Party of Canada is officially registered, following the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

Conservative Party of CanadaCanadian AllianceProgressive Conservative Party of Canada