1879-Thomas Edison privately demonstrated incandescent light at Menlo Park
1917-Soviet state security force and forerunner to the KGB, the Cheka forms, under Felix Dzerzhinsky after decree by Vladimir Lenin
1922-Draft declaration on creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) crafted by representatives from the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, and the Transcaucasian SFSR
1924-Adolf Hitler freed from jail early, having served only nine months of five-year sentence for "Beer Hall Putsch"
1941-World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming, China.
1956-Military coup under colonel Simbolon in Sumatra
195- Montgomery, Alabama removes race-based seat assignments on its buses
1960-The National Liberation Front, better known as the Viet Cong, is officially formed in South Vietnam
1967-474,300 US soldiers in Vietnam
1999-Portugal returns Macau to China