General Pervez Musharraf appointed himself as president of Pakistan. He had acquired power following a bloodless coup d'etat on the 12th of October 1999.

British footballer, Frank Lampard Jr., was born in Romford, England.

Snipers opened fire on a crowd that was awaiting the return of Juan Peron in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 13 people were killed and more than 300 were injured.

American filmmaker, Robert Rodriguez, was born in San Antonio, Texas. In 1992 he went on to shoot the action movie, El Mariachi, with a budget of only 7,000 US dollars. The film won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and paved the way for Rodriguez's acceptance as one of the prominent filmmakers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. His success was also an inspiration to numerous aspiring filmmakers.

Australian actress, Nicole Kidman, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. As of 2006 she became the highest paid female actor in the film industry.

A direct telephone line, known as the 'red telephone', was established between the Soviet Union and United States. The telephone line was established following the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Senegal gained its independence from the rule of France.

The television show, Toast of the Town, debuted. The show was later renamed to, The Ed Sullivan Show and continued to run uninterrupted for 23 years.

American actor, Danny Aiello, was born in Brooklyn, New York.

American actress, Olympia Dukakis, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts.

American actor, Martin Landau, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Although he has had a distinguished film career he is most known for the early roles of his career in the hit television series, Mission: Impossible (1966 - 1969) and Space 1999 (1975 - 1977).

French politician, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was born in La Trinite-sur-Mer. He is a far-right nationalist politician as well as the president of the National Front party.

The world's first commercial telephone service was installed in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, by Alexander Graham Bell.

West Virginia was admitted as the 35th US state.

Queen Victoria ascended to the British throne. Her reign, also known as the Victorian Era, brought the British empire its zenith, making it foremost global power of the time.

German composer, Jacques Offenbach, was born in Cologne. He was a composer and cellist of the Romantic era and one of the founders of the operetta form.

University of Oxford received its charter.