- The Cold War officially ended. (1989) Although no treaties were signed, George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev issued a joint statement that the two countries would work towards a lasting peace and "transform the East-West relationship to one of enduring co-operation" at the end of the Malta Summit.
- The first successful human heart transplant was performed. (1967) Dr. Christiaan N. Barnard performed the surgery at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, on Lewis Washkansky. The heart functioned perfectly. Washkansky, however, died 18 days later of pneumonia which he contracted because of a weakened immune system.
- The Ottawa Treaty was signed by 122 countries, banning anti-personnel land mines. (1997) The treaty required signatories to stop producing land mines designed to be used against humans — as opposed to anti-tank land minds — and to clear its land area of land mines within ten years of signing. Among the states that did not sign were the United States, China, Russia, and North and South Korea.
- Neon lights were first seen by the public at the Paris Auto Show. (1910) Dr. Georges Claude displayed a neon sign made of two 38-foot (about 12-meter) long tubes at Grand Palais of the Paris Auto Show. Dr. Claude would later sell the first neon signs to reach the US to a Packard dealership in 1923.
- The first co-educational college was founded in the United States. (1833) Oberlin College, in Ohio, was the first college in the US to allow mixed-sex classes. The first four women to earn a Bachelor's Degree in the US earned them at Oberlin.
- George Washington wrote to Congress to say he had arrived at the Delaware River. (1776) He spent the next two weeks organizing supplies and troops before crossing the Delaware to launch a surprise attack on Hessian troops stationed in Trenton. This campaign was a turning point in the Revolutionary War, as it marked Washington's army coming back from almost certain defeat.
- Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" opened on Broadway. (1947) Marlon Brando and Kim Hunter played Stanley and Stella, and would go on to do so in the 1951 movie version. After the first show, the audience applauded continuously for thirty minutes.
- The first PlayStation™ was released in Japan. (1994) It was actually scheduled to come out three years earlier as a joint venture from Nintendo and Sony, but Nintendo backed out of the deal to form a partnership with Philips. Within a decade of its release, over 100 million PlayStations™ were sold.
- The Pioneer 10 spacecraft sent back the first close-up pictures of Jupiter. (1973) Until 1998, the Pioneer 10 was the most-distant man-made object from the sun, since it passed Pluto's orbit. The last successful contact was made with Pioneer 10 in early 2003.
- Colonel Mary A. Hallaren became the first female non-medical Army officer. (1948) Col. Hallaren was the director of the Women's Army Corps before she was conscripted, and was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal during her time in the Army.