| 1545 | The Council of Trent, an attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to respond to the Protestant Reformation, begins its meetings. |
| 1577 | Sir Francis Drake begins his voyage to circumnavigate the globe. |
| 1862 | During the Civil War , Confederate troops under Gen. Robert E. Lee defeat the Union at the Battle of Fredericksburg. |
| 1981 | In Poland, the government decrees martial law and suspends the activities of the Solidarity labor union. |
| 1991 | North and South Korea sign a reconciliation and nonaggression pact, in their broadest accord since the 1953 armistice unofficially ending the Korean War. |
| 2001 | Five gunmen with links to Pakistani terror organizations open fire outside the Indian parliament building; 14 people, including the terrorists, are killed in the chaos. |
| The U.S. releases a tape of Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaeda leader expresses his pleasure in the terrorist attacks of September 11. | |
| Pres. George W. Bush announces that the U.S. will withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union. | |
| 2002 | Roman Catholic Cardinal Bernard Law resigns as archbishop of Boston amidst growing criticism for allegedly protecting priests accused of abusing minors. |
| 2003 | Deposed Iraqi Pres. Saddam Hussein is captured by U.S. forces in an underground hideout 9 miles from his hometown of Tikrit. |
