1644 – Areopagitica, a pamphlet by John Milton, decrying censorship, is published.

1890 – King William III of the Netherlands dies (b. 1817) without a male heir and a special law passed to allow his daughter Princess Wilhelmina to inherit.

1909 – Wright Brothers forms million dollar corp to manufacture airplanes

1943 – British Forces Broadcasting Service begins operation

1945 – Most US wartime rationing of foods, including meat & butter, ends

1971 – China People’s Republic seated in UN Security Council

2011 – Arab Spring: After 11 months of protests in Yemen, The Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh Signs a deal to transfer power to the vice president, in exchange for legal immunity.