| 1896 | The American transcontinental railroad was completed |
| 1910 | The maximum lifetime of a parliament was changed from seven to five years |
| 1915 | Zeppelin airships made their first raids on London |
| 1933 | Nazis burned books outside Berlin University that were 'un-German' |
| 1940 | Winston Churchill took over from Neville Chamberlin as Prime Minister |
| 1941 | The House of Commons was destroyed by a the largest German air raid of the war |
| 1977 | Joan Crawford, the American film actress, died |
| 1983 | Natal, in South Africa, became self governing |
| 1994 | Nelson Mandella was sworn in as the president of South Africa |
