In Afghanistan, the Taliban captured the capital city Kabul. The Taliban ruled most of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001. The Taliban state was recognized only by three other states, those of the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

American musician, Cliff Burton, died at the age of 24. He was a musician and part of the Metallica rock band as the second bassist and co-writer of several of their songs. He died when his body was flung outside the window of the tour bus the group was riding and was crushed when the bus rolled over.

The Warren Commission released its report in regards to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The commission's report concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone and that no conspiracy existed. Over the years there have been countless rumours and speculations in regards to the veracity of the report.

The television show, Tonight!, also known as 'The Tonight Show' premiered on the NBC channel. The original host of the show was Steve Allen who hosted the show for 3 years to be replaced by Jack Paar who stayed on as the host for 5 years. The third host of the show, Johnny Carson, became an icon of American and worldwide television. He hosted the show for an amazing 30 years and in 1992 was replaced by Jay Leno.

The first Liberty Ship, SS Patrick Henry, was launched. The liberty ships were cargo ships built by the United States during World War II. Overall 2,751 Liberty Ships were built with the purpose of transporting supplies from America to England during the war. As of 2006 two of those ships survive as ship museums and are still operational.

The last Balinese tiger was killed. It was a species of tiger found solely on the small Indonesian island of Bali.

The United States officially recognized the Republic of China. The Republic of China has been commonly referred to as 'Taiwan'.

The steamship Arctic sank with over 300 people on board. It was the first major ship disaster in the Atlantic Ocean.

Mexico gained its independence from Spain. The Mexican war of independence lasted 11 years before Spain was forced to recognize Mexico as a sovereign nation.