William Randolph Hearst 1863 - American newspaper magnate, newspaper publisher
- 1913 - Gideon Sundback patented an all-purpose zipper.
- 1945 - The Nazi death camp, Dachau, was liberated.
- 1990 - The destruction of the Berlin Wall began.
- 1992 - Rioting began after a jury decision to acquit four Los Angeles policemen in the Rodney King beating trial. 54 people were killed in 3 days.
- 1994 - Israel and the PLO signed an agreement in Paris which granted Palestinians broad authority to set taxes, control trade and regulate banks under self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
- 1996 - Former CIA Director William Colby was missing and presumed drowned after an apparent boating accident in Maryland. Colby's body was later recovered.
- 1998 - The U.S president Clinton, Canada and Mexico end tariffs on $1 billion in NAFTA trade.