1857: 17-year old Midshipman Mayo won the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny by leading a charge by the Indian Naval Brigade against two artillery guns, sprinting a considerable distance ahead of his support. Lieutenant Aitken of the Bengal Native Infantry was also awarded the Victoria Cross for repeated acts of gallantry over a five month period during the defence of the Lucknow Residency.

1879: During a punitive expedition against tribesmen in the Naga Hills of Assam, following the murder of a British Commissioner and an attack on the garrison at Kohima, Brigadier General Nation launched an assault on the stronghold of Konoma. Captain Ridgeway particularly distinguished himself, attempting to tear down barricades with his bare hands under heavy fire. He was seriously wounded but his gallantry was recognised by the award of the Victoria Cross.

1900: During the Boer War, Private Kennedy of the Highland Light Infantry carried a severely wounded colleague for 3/4 of a mile under continual heavy fire to receive medical attention. He then volunteered to attempt to run a message in what were known to be almost suicidal conditions. He covered only twenty yards before falling with serious wounds. He received the Victoria Cross for his efforts.

1906: The ''S-O-S'' distress signal was adopted at the International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin

1915: Major-General Townshend began a five day attack on the Turkish positions at Ctesiphon, the old Sassanian capital just south of Baghdad, supported by a small flotilla of river gunboats and craft. The Turkish positions had been reinforced, and Townshend's supply lines were over extended; the assault failed, and he retreated to Kut, where he was forced to surrender the following spring.

1939: Lieutenant Commander Ouvry and Chief Petty Officer Baldwin made their way out across mudflats in the Thames estuary to a German mine of a previously unseen type, lying exposed at low tide having been dropped by the Luftwaffe the night before. Working quite literally against the clock to defuse the weapon and recover it before the tide rose or a ticking timing device exploded the weapon, they managed to remove two detonators, make it safe and drag it to shore. The mine proved to be of a new magnetic type that had already caused severe damage to British shipping. Its recovery allowed detailed analysis at HMS Vernon, the RN's school of torpedoes and mines, and suitable countermeasures were rapidly introduced.

HMAS Canberra picked up three boatlaods of survivors from the merchant ship, Port Brisbane, which was sunk in the Indian Ocean by the German raider, Pinguin.

1941: In Russia, the first column of trucks started on the ice of Lake Ladoga to get flour for the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad. The road across the lake was called “The Road of Life”. It was the main artery connecting the encircled city with Russian Army lines

In the Med, British torpedo planes attacked a German supply convoy bringing supplies to Africa sinking one of the escorting cruisers, A British accounting for another cruiser. Naval forces from Malta sortie but are unable to make contact with the convoy

1942: As the Battle of Stalingrad continued , German General Friedrich von Paulus sended Adolf Hitler a telegram saying that the German 6th army was surrounded.

1943: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek met in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss ways to defeat Japan
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1944: A platoon from 10th Baluch Regiment became pinned down by a Japanese machine-gun during an action in the Arakan, Burma. Sepoy Bhandari Ram although already wounded, crawled steadfastly towards the machine-gun. Ignoring a further wound, he got within five yards to be certain of hitting with a grenade, which knocked out the gun, and allowed his colleagues to rush the position. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1963: US President John F Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. Texas Gov. John B. Connolly was seriously wounded. A suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, was arrested. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson became the 36th president of the United States

1965: D.N. Aidit, head of the Communist Party of Indonesia is captured and killed by the Indonesian military in the aftermath of the G30S coup attempt.

1967 : UN Security Council Resolution 242 is adopted by the UN Security Council, establishing a set of the principles aimed at guiding negotiations for an Arab-Israeli peace settlement

1972: The United States lost its first B-52 Stratofortress over Vietnam

1973: The Italian Fascist organization Ordine Nuovo is disbanded

1974: The United Nations General Assembly grants the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status.

1975 : Juan Carlos is declared King of Spain following the death of Francisco Franco.