1861 – U.S. President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus.
1861 – West Virginia seceded from Virginia after Virginia seceded from the Union during the American Civil War.
1865 – In the U.S. the Sultana exploded while carrying 2,300 Union POWs. Between 1,400 – 2,000 were killed.
1938 – Geraldine Apponyi married King Zog of Albania. She was the first American woman to become a queen.
1946 – The SS African Star was placed in service. It was the first commercial ship to be equipped with radar.
1961 – The United Kingdom granted Sierra Leone independence.
1978 – Pro-Soviet Marxists seized control of Afghanistan.
1987 – The U.S. Justice Department barred Austrian President Kurt Waldheim from entering theU.S.He claimed that he had aided in the deportation and execution of thousands of Jews and others as a German Army officer during World War II.
1992 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed in Belgrade by the Republic of Serbia and its ally Montenegro.
1992 – Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics won entry into the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
2005 – The A380, the world’s largest jetliner, completed its maiden flight. The passenger capability was 840.
2005 – Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first Kremlin leader to visit Israel.
2006 – In New York, NY, construction began on the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center on the site of former World Trade Center.