In 1758, American lexicographer Noah Webster was born in Hartford, Connecticut.
In 1793, during the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, was beheaded.
In 1846, the first successful public demonstration of the use of ether for surgical anesthesia was performed, making pain-free surgery possible. This historical event took place in the amphitheater of the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital. William Morton, a dentist from Hartford came up with the idea of administering ether to a patient, Gilbert Abbott, so that Mass General surgeon, John Collins Warren, could remove a tumor from Abbott's neck.
In 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the US arsenal at Harpers Ferry in what was then a part of western Virginia. (Ten of Brown's men were killed and five escaped. Brown and six followers were captured; all were executed.)
In 1934, Chinese Communists, under siege by the Nationalists, began their "long march" lasting a year from southeastern to northwestern China.
In 1944, a B-24 Liberator on a training trip slammed into Camels Hump. Nine airmen died in the crash and the sole survivor, Private Jimmy Wilson, 18, of Jacksonville, Fla., would lose both hands and feet due to frostbite as he lay injured in the wreckage. Wilson was rescued by a group of teenage Civil Air Patrol Cadets from Waterbury who found him 41 hours after the crash.
In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis began as President John F. Kennedy was informed that reconnaissance photographs had revealed the presence of nuclear missile bases in Cuba.
In 1964, China set off its first atomic bomb, codenamed "596," on the Lop Nur Test Ground.
In 1968, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos sparked controversy at the Mexico City Olympics by giving "Black power" salutes during a victory ceremony after they had won gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race.
In 1978, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church chose Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to be the new pope; he took the name John Paul II.
In 1984, Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of non-violent struggle for racial equality in South Africa.
In 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure was pulled from an abandoned well in Midland, Texas, after being stuck there for more than two days. The efforts to rescue "Baby Jessica" captured the attention of the nation.
In 1991, a gunman opened fire at a Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, killing 23 people before taking his own life.
In 1995, the Million Man March, a gathering of Black men meant to foster unity in the face of economic and social issues affecting African Americans, was held in Washington D.C.