1721-Czar Peter the Great ends Russian-orthodox patriarchy
1939-Earthquake hits Chillán Chile, 10,000 killed
1955-U.S. & Panamá sign canal treaty
1964-Beatles 1st US #1, "I Want to Hold your Hand" (Cashbox)
1969-U.S.-North Vietnamese peace talks begin in Paris
1974-South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard transplanted the first human heart without removal of the old one
1981-Mao's widow Jiang Qing sentenced to death
1989-Michael Jordan scores his 10,000th NBA point in his 5th season
1991-Manuel Noriega is given access to assets frozen by U.S. government
1993-Puerto Rico adds English as its 2nd official language
1993 Sears announces it is closing its catalog sales department after 97 years
1994-Accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, Michael Jackson settles a civil lawsuit out of court
1994-US space probe Clementine launched
1995-Jacques Santer succeeds Jacques Delors as chairman of European Committee
1998-"Grease" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater New York City NY after 1,503 performance
1998-Britain's Queen Mother, 97, gets an emergency hip replacement
1998-Spice Girl Victoria Adams (Posh) & soccer David Beckham gets engaged