• The Twenty-first Amendment to the US Constitution, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition) takes effect (1933)
• Gone With the Wind premiers (1939)
• Douglas MacArthur abolishes Shinto as the state religion of Japan (1945)
• Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death for Holocaust crimes (1961)
• US Space Program: Gemini 6A is launched (1965)
• Soviet Space Program: Venera 7 achieves the first successful soft landing on another planet (1970)
• John Paul Getty III is found alive following his kidnapping five months previously (1973)
• Homosexuality is officially removed from the DSM-II official list of psychiatric disorders (1973)
• The US recognizes the People’s Republic of China and severs official diplomatic relations with Taiwan (1978)
• The first modern suicide bombing takes place in Beirut (1981)
• An episode of the TV series Pokemon triggers seizures, vomiting, and dizziness in over 600 Japanese children (1997)
• The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27 million in repairs (2001)
• The F-22 Raptor enters active service (2005), and both the F-35 Lightning II (2006) and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (2009) make their maiden flights

Birthdays

• Johannes Vermeer, painter (1675)
• Izaak Walton, fisher and author (1683)
• Sitting Bull, tribal chief (1890)
• Fats Waller, musician (1943)
• Glenn Miller, musician (1944)
• Wolfgang Pauli, Nobel laureate (1958)
• Charles Laughton, actor
• Walt Disney, animator and theme park entrepreneur (1966)
• Chill Wills, actor (1978)
• William Proxmire, politician (2005)
• Oral Roberts, evangelist (2009)
• Blake Edwards, filmmaker (2010)
• Christopher Hitchens, journalist and author (2011)
• Joan Fontaine, actress (2013)

Holidays and Celebrations

• Bill of Rights Day (United States)
• Consualia (Roman Empire)
• Homecoming Day (Alderney)
• Kingdom Day (Netherlands)
• Remembrance Day of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty (Russia)
• Zamenhof Day (Esperanto community)