680 – Battle of Karbala: Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, is decapitated by forces under Caliph Yazid I. This is commemorated by Muslims as Aashurah.
732 – Near Poitiers, France, a force commanded by Charles Martel defeat a large army of Moors, stopping the Muslims from spreading into western Europe.
1471 – Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the help of farmers and miners, repels an attack by King Christian I of Denmark.
1575 – Roman Catholic forces under Henry I, Duke of Guise defeat the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others.
1580 – Over 600 papal troops land at Dún an Óir, Ireland to support the Second Desmond Rebellion.
1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
1631 – An Electorate of Saxony army takes over Prague.
1760 – In a treaty with the Dutch colonial authorities, the Ndyuka people of Suriname – descended from escaped slaves – gain territorial autonomy.
1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000–30,000 in the Caribbean.
1845 – In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 midshipman students and seven professors.
1846 – Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune, is discovered by English astronomer William Lassell.
1868 – Carlos Céspedes issues the Grito de Yara from his plantation, La Demajagua, proclaiming Cuba’s independence
1911 – The Wuchang Uprising leads to the demise of the Qing dynasty, the last Imperial court in China, and the founding of the Republic of China.
1913 – United States President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike, ending construction on the Panama Canal.
1920 – The Carinthian plebiscite determines that the larger part of the Duchy of Carinthia should remain part of Austria.
1928 – Chiang Kai-shek becomes Chairman of the Republic of China.
1933 – United Airlines Boeing 247 mid-air explosion: A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by sabotage, the first such proven case in the history of commercial aviation.
1938 – The Munich Agreement cedes the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany.
1945 – The Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang signed a principle agreement in Chongqing about the future of post-war China. Later, the pact is commonly referred to as the Double Tenth Agreement.
1953 – A Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea is concluded in Washington, D.C..
1957 – The Windscale fire in Cumbria, U.K. is the world’s first major nuclear accident.
1963 – France cedes control of the Bizerte naval base to Tunisia.
1963 – The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty comes into effect.
1967 – The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force.
1970 – Fiji becomes independent.
1975 – Papua New Guinea joins the United Nations.
1980 – The 7.1 Mw El Asnam earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme); at least 2,633 people were killed and 8,369 were injured.
1980 – FMLN is founded in El Salvador.
1985 – United States Navy F-14 fighter jets intercept an Egyptian plane carrying the hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise ship, and force it to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily where they are arrested.
1997 – An Austral Airlines DC-9-32 crashes and explodes near Nuevo Berlin, Uruguay, killing 74.
1998 – A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 is shot down by rebels in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 41 people.
2009 – Armenia and Turkey sign protocols in Zurich, Switzerland to open their borders.
2010 – The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved as a country.
2015 – Twin bomb blasts in the Turkish capital Ankara near the main train station leave at least 102 people dead and over 400 wounded.