| 1818 | Illinois is admitted to the Union as the 21st state. |
| 1901 | U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt outlines a number of measures designed to secure a greater measure of social justice in his first message to Congress. |
| 1967 | Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the first successful heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa. |
| 1971 | India intervenes militarily to end Pakistan's attempt to keep West Pakistan (now Bangladesh ) from becoming independent. |
| 1973 | The unmanned spacecraft Pioneer 10 passes Jupiter. |
| 1984 | Deadly gas leaks from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India , killing more than 2,000 people and injuring 200,000. |
| 1992 | The UN Security Council votes to send troops to Somalia , stricken by famine. |
