• 1549 – The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier's ship reaches Japan.


• 1667 – Birth day of Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (Death on 1748)

• 1929 – The Geneva Convention of 1929, dealing with treatment of prisoners-of-war, is signed by 53 nations.

• 1949 – Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.

• 2015 –  Death of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Indian engineer, academic and 11th President of India (Birth on 1931)