Rodney Dangerfield 1921 - Actor, comedian
- 1906 - The International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin adopted the SOS distress signal.
- 1910 - Arthur F. Knight patented a steel shaft to replace wood shafts in golf clubs.
- 1942 - During World War II, the Battle of Stalingrad began.
- 1950 - The lowest scoring game in the NBA was played. The Fort Wayne Pistons (later the Detroit Pistons) defeated the Minneapolis Lakers (later the Los Angeles Lakers) 19-18.
- 1963 - U.S. President Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, TX. Texas Governor John B. Connally was also seriously wounded. Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson was inaugurated as the 36th U.S. President.
- 1985 - 38,648 immigrants became citizens of the United States. It was the largest swearing-in ceremony.
- 1998 - CBS's "60 Minutes" aired a tape of Jack Kevorkian giving lethal drugs in an assisted suicide of a terminally ill patient. Kevorkian was later sentenced to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder.