These are some of the notable events to have happened on this date throughout history.
1706, The town of Abruzzi, Italy, was destroyed by an earthquake that killed around 15,000 people.
1843, The statue of Admiral Lord Nelson was hauled to the top of the column in London's Trafalgar Square.
1900, The first car show in the US opened at New York's Madison Square Garden.
1903, Panama proclaimed its independence from Columbia.
1913, The United States introduced the income tax.
1926, Annie Oakley, the legendary American sharpshooter with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, died.
1942, During World War II, Montgomery's Eighth Army broke through Rommel's front line in Africa taking 9,000 German prisoners and destroying 300 tanks.
1954, French artist Henri Matisse died.
1957, A Russian dog named Laika became the first animal in space inside Sputnik II.
1969, President Richard Nixon addressed the nation on television and radio, asking the "silent majority" to join him in solidarity on the Vietnam War effort.
1975, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II opened the North Sea underwater oil pipeline.
1984, India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was cremated after being assassinated.
1985, Two French agents in New Zealand pleaded guilty to sinking the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior and to the manslaughter of a photographer on board.
1998, Patrizia Reggiani Martinelli, the former wife of fashion house heir Maurizio Gucci, was sentenced to 29 years in jail for his murder.
2004, President George W. Bush was re-elected.
2007, Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule across Pakistan.
Copyright WENN.com. Wikipedia contributed to this report.
