Barry Goldwater 1909
- 1804 - Haiti gained its independence.
- 1863 - U.S. President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all slaves in the rebel states were free.
- 1895 - In Battle Creek, MI, C.W. Post created his first usable batch of Monks Brew (later called Postum). It was a cereal-based substitute for caffeinated drinks.
- 1959 - Fidel Castro overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista, and seized power in Cuba.
- 1979 - The United States and China held celebrations in Washington, DC, and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
- 1994 - The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect.
- 1995 - The World Trade Organization came into existence. The group of 125 nations monitors global trade.