1964 – Hurricane Cleo dissipated after causing 156 deaths, mainly in Haiti, and causing roughly US$187 million in damages across the Caribbean and southeastern United States.
1954 – An earthquake registering 6.7 Mw struck near Chlef, Algeria, killing over 1,200 people and forcing the government to implement comprehensive reforms in building codes.
1945 – Mike the Headless Chicken(pictured) was decapitated on a farm in Colorado; he survived another 18 months as part of sideshows before choking to death.
1974 – After centuries of Portuguese rule, the country of Guinea-Bissau was formally recognized as independent.
1983 – Typhoon Ellen dissipated after destroying hundreds of homes across Hong Kong and the Philippines.
1995 – Mir EO-19, the nineteenth crewed mission to the Russian space station Mir, returned to Earth after approximately 75 days in space. It was the first Mir expedition launched on an American Space Shuttle.
1848 – An explosion drove an iron rod through the head of railroad foreman Phineas Gage; his survival and recovery influenced 19th-century discussion of psychology and neuroscience.
1919 – The Boston police strike ended after four days of rule by the state militia, the deaths of nine people, and accusations that striking officers were "agents of Lenin".
2005 – A software bug caused a simulated pandemic in the online video game World of Warcraft, serving as a model for epidemiologists to understand how human interaction influences disease outbreaks.
1989 – Typhoon Sarah dissipated after causing extensive damage along an erratic path across the Western Pacific, killing 71 in Taiwan, the Philippines, and the Gotō Islands.
Marilyn Monroe posing during filming for The Seven Year Itch
1462 – The Ottoman conquest of Lesbos ended upon the surrender of commander Niccolò Gattilusio; the conquering Mehmed II executed 300 Italian soldiers by chopping them in half, claiming he was fulfilling a promise to "spare their heads".
1382 – Following the death of Louis I without a male heir, his daughter Mary was crowned with the title of King of Hungary.
1859 – Disgruntled with the legal and political structures of the United States, Joshua Norton (pictured) distributed letters to various newspapers in San Francisco proclaiming himself to be Emperor Norton.
1894 – The controversial Mormon bishop and prophetic dreamer John Hyrum Koyle began excavating the Dream Mine, which he believed would provide financial support to members of the LDS Church.
1914 – Andrew Fisher, whose previous term as Prime Minister of Australia oversaw a period of reform unmatched in the Commonwealth until the 1940s, became prime minister for the third time.
1981 – While posing as an aristocrat, Belgian serial killer Nestor Pirotte murdered an antiques dealer in Brussels, for which crime he was sentenced to death.
1498 – A tsunami caused by the Meiō earthquake washed away the building housing the statue of the Great Buddha (pictured)atKōtoku-ininKamakura, Japan; the statue has since stood in the open air.
2001 – Several British Muslim youths in Peterborough, England, murdered 17-year-old Ross Parker, leading to debate over whether the British media failed to cover racially-motivated crimes with white victims.
1884 – The French steamship Arctique ran aground on the northern coast of Cape Virgenes in Argentina; gold was discovered during the rescue effort, triggering the Tierra del Fuego gold rush.
1920 – The Louisiana hurricane dissipated over Kansas after forcing around 4,500 people to evacuate and causing $1.45 million in damages.
2010 – Teresa Lewis became the first woman to be executed by the U.S. state of Virginia since 1912, and the first woman in the state to be executed by lethal injection.
235 – Pope Pontian resigned after being exiled to Sardinia, becoming the first pope to relinquish the position; he was reportedly beaten to death with sticks weeks later.
1928 – Scottish biologist and pharmacologist Alexander Fleming(pictured) discovered penicillin when he noticed a bacteria-killing mould growing in his laboratory.
