France officially ended Operation Sangaris, a military intervention in the Central African Republic to stabilize the country during a civil war, after nearly three years of deployment.
📍 Bangui, Central African Republic
Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor who self-immolated in protest of police corruption, died from his injuries. His death triggered mass protests and the wider Arab Spring uprisings.
📍 Sfax, Tunisia
United Launch Alliance successfully launched an Atlas V rocket carrying a U.S. military communications satellite into orbit, demonstrating precision in defense-grade space technologies.
📍 Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was finalized, aiming to eliminate or restrict production and use of toxic chemicals harmful to human health and the environment.
📍 Stockholm, Sweden
The U.S. House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton—perjury and obstruction of justice—related to the Monica Lewinsky scandal, making him the second U.S. president to be impeached.
📍 Washington, D.C., United States
Angola, Cuba, and South Africa signed the Tripartite Accord in New York, agreeing to withdraw foreign troops from Angola and Namibia, marking the beginning of the end of South African involvement in regional wars.
📍 New York City, United States
National Public Radio launched the weekend edition of 'Morning Edition', expanding its news programming and becoming one of the most-listened-to weekend news shows in the United States.
📍 Washington, D.C., United States
Oceanographer Robert Ballard confirmed the location and condition of the RMS Titanic wreck, which had been discovered earlier that year, reigniting global interest in the tragedy and deep-sea exploration.
📍 North Atlantic Ocean
Sir Ralph Richardson, one of Britain's greatest stage and screen actors, died at age 80. He was part of the legendary acting trio with Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud.
📍 London, United Kingdom
Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, concluding NASA’s final crewed mission to the Moon. The mission carried out extensive lunar surface exploration and remains the last human visit to the Moon to date.
📍 Pacific Ocean
Leonid Brezhnev formally assumed leadership of the Soviet Union, beginning a two-decade rule marked by relative stability, stagnation, and intensified Cold War tensions with the West.
📍 Moscow, Soviet Union
New Hampshire became the first U.S. state to legalize a government-run lottery since the early 1900s, marking the beginning of modern state lotteries that now fund billions in public programs.
📍 Concord, New Hampshire, United States
Édith Piaf, France’s most beloved singer known for powerful ballads like “La Vie en rose,” was born in Paris. Her music became symbolic of French identity and emotional resilience.
📍 Paris, France
German psychiatrist and neurologist Alois Alzheimer, who first identified the disease that now bears his name, died. His work laid the foundation for research in neurodegenerative disorders.
📍 Breslau, German Empire (now Wrocław, Poland)
During the Discovery Expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott, explorers documented Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys, one of the driest places on Earth and a unique analog to Martian landscapes.
📍 McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
The National Trust was officially founded in the United Kingdom to preserve historic buildings and natural landscapes. It became one of the world’s largest heritage organizations.
📍 London, United Kingdom
Carter G. Woodson, an American historian and educator who pioneered the study of African American history and founded what would become Black History Month, was born in Virginia.
📍 New Canton, Virginia, United States
Emily Brontë, one of the Brontë sisters and author of the literary classic 'Wuthering Heights', died of tuberculosis at age 30. Her only novel became a cornerstone of English literature.
📍 Haworth, England, United Kingdom
William Pitt the Younger, Britain’s youngest-ever Prime Minister who guided the country through the Napoleonic Wars and major reforms, died at age 46 after serving two non-consecutive terms.
📍 London, United Kingdom
Marcello Malpighi, Italian biologist and physician known as the father of microscopic anatomy and histology, died. His discoveries in capillary function and organ structures were pivotal to modern medicine.
📍 Rome, Papal States