Reuters
1643: Sir Isaac Newton, scientist, was born. He developed the laws of gravity and planetary relations
1868: The restoration of Imperial rule in Japan is formally proclaimed.
1642: King Charles I attacked the English House of Commons with an armed guard. He was forced to retire, empty-handed.
1757: Robert Francois Damiens made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate King Louis XV of France.
1932: The Indian Congress Party is declared illegal by the British. Mahatmat Gandhi and Nehru are arrested
1948: Britain granted independence to Burma (later renamed to Myanmar). Aung San had arranged for national independence on this day but was assassinated before the event by political rivals. The new rulers tried to limit citizenship to those whose roots predated 1823 and British rule.
1970: More than 15,000 people are killed in Tonghai County, China after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake
1936: Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade.
1945: US jeep-aircraft carrier Ommaney Bay sinks after Japanese kamikaze attack in the Sulu Sea (Philippines)
1951: During the Korean war, Chinese and Korean Communist forces retake Seoul
1865: The New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad Street near Wall Street in NYC. The Corinthian-style structure would serve the Exchange until 1903 when more spacious quarters opened at 18 Broad Street.
1960: Albert Camus (1913-1960), French writer, died in an automobile accident at age 46. He won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1957.
1999: The euro, the new money of 11 European nations, got off to a strong start on its first trading day, rising against the dollar on world currency markets and closed in New York at $1.181
2004: Rival Afghan factions agreed to a new national constitution. 502 delegates accepted a system with a strong president and a weaker parliament.
2006: The world’s largest bank, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG), opened for business with $1.6 trillion in assets.
