- GM filed for bankruptcy. (2009) The General Motors bankruptcy was the fourth largest in US history.
- A recipe for scotch whiskey was recorded for the first time. (1495) Friar John Cor (from Scotland) is the first known person to establish a written record a recipe for scotch whiskey. It's very likely, however, that people had been making their own homemade versions well before.
- CNN made its first broadcast. (1980) The broadcast was sent from CNN's studios in Atlanta and started at 5:00 PM.
- The UK implemented compulsory driving tests for all driving applicants. (1935) The tests took about 30 minutes and the pass rate was only around 63%!
- The Heimlich maneuver was first published. (1974): The procedure was named after Dr. Henry Heimlich who published an article about it in the journal, Emergency Medicine. It's a maneuver that has largely replaced the old fashioned back-blows that people used to perform on choking victims.
- James Clark Ross was the first person to discover the North Magnetic Pole. (1831) It's actually a location that shifts some 6 to 25 miles (about 10 to 40 kilometers) a year, but Ross is credited with being the first man to have reached and identified it as the North Pole.
- Kentucky became the 15th US state. (1792) Before that, it was a part of Virginia. It has the world's longest cave system — Mammoth Cave National Park.
- Tennessee became the 16th US state. (1796) Initially, Tennessee was part of North Carolina, and then it was part of the "Southwest Territory" before becoming its own state. It is home to the most frequented national park — The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- The People's Republic of China began to fill in the reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam. (2003) The controversial project was completed in 2009, making it one of the world's largest dams.
- The American actor, Morgan Freeman, was born. (1937) Morgan Freeman is known for his roles in a variety of movies including the Driving Miss Daisy and The Shawshank Redemption.
- Justine Henin was born. (1982) Formerly Justine Henin-Hardenne, Henin is a Belgian tennis player who won a number of tennis titles including 7 Grand Slam, 4 French Open, and 2 US Open titles.