Seventeen activists in New Zealand are arrested in the country's first post 9/11 anti-terrorism raids.

A riot in Toledo, Ohio breaks out during a National Socialist/Neo-Nazi protest; over 100 are arrested.

Iraqi constitution ratification vote.

The Staten Island Ferry boat ''Andrew J. Barberi'' runs into a pier at the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island, killing 11 people and injuring 43.

China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission.

NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io.

The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.

The first supersonic land speed record is set by Andy Green in ''ThrustSSC'' (United Kingdom), exactly 50 years and 1 day after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the Earth's atmosphere.

Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.

Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL.

The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England.

Black Monday in Malta. The Building of the Times of Malta, the residence of the opposition leader Eddie Fenech Adami and several Nationalist Party clubs are ransacked and destroyed by supporters of the Malta Labour Party.

The diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Gabon are established.

The start of the 2500-year celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia.

The domestic Soviet Aeroflot Flight 244 is hijacked and diverted to Turkey.

Thirty-five construction workers are killed when a section of the new West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapses.

Vietnam War; The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was held in Washington DC and across the US. Over 2 million demonstrated nationally; about 250,000 in the nation's capitol.

Black Panther Party is created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.

Vietnam War: The National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam stages the first public burning of a draft card in the United States to result in arrest under a new law.

Fortran, the first modern computer language, is shared with the coding community for the first time.

British nuclear test ''Totem 1'' detonated at Emu Field, South Australia.

Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes conducted the very last step of the first synthesis of norethisterone, the progestin that would later be used in one of the first two oral contraceptives.

Nuremberg Trials: Hermann Göring poisons himself the night before his execution.

World War II: The former premier of Vichy France Pierre Laval is shot by a firing squad for treason.

The Arrow Cross Party (very similar to Hitler's NSDAP (Nazi party)) takes over the power in Hungary.

The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed La Guardia Airport) is dedicated.

The District of Columbia formally adopts a design for its flag.

The Soviet Republic of China collapses when Chiang Kai-shek's National Revolutionary Army successfully encircle Ruijin, forcing the fleeing Communists to begin the Long March.

Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight.

The airship, the Graf Zeppelin completes its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States.

World War I: At Vincennes outside of Paris, Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for the German Empire.

The Russian Baltic Fleet leaves Reval, Estonia for Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War.

The Dreyfus affair: Alfred Dreyfus is arrested for spying.

The "From Hell" letter sent by Jack the Ripper is received by the investigators.

Mexican soldiers kill Victorio, one of the greatest Apache military strategists.

The Edison Electric Light Company begins operation.

American Civil War: The Battle of Glasgow is fought, resulting in the surrender of Glasgow, Missouri, and its Union garrison, to the Confederacy.

American Civil War: The ''H. L. Hunley'', the first submarine to sink a ship, sinks during a test, killing its inventor, Horace L. Hunley.

Napoleon I of France begins his exile on Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.

Queen Marie-Antoinette of France is tried and condemned in a swift, pre-determined trial in the Palais de Justice, Paris, and condemned to death the following day.

The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon marks the first human ascent, by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, (tethered balloon).

Edward Gibbon observes a group of friars singing in the ruined Temple of Jupiter in Rome, which inspires him to begin work on ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire''.

Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15.

Byzantine general Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals.