Winnenden school shooting

Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as first female president of Chile.

Madrid train bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid, Spain, kill 191 people.

Infosys becomes the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Janet Reno is confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn-in the next day, becoming the first female Attorney General of the United States.

Lithuania declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.

Patricio Aylwin is sworn-in as the first democratically elected Chilean president since 1970.

Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the Soviet Union's leader.

Coastal Road massacre: At least 37 are killed and more than 70 are wounded when Al Fatah hijack an Israeli bus, prompting Israel's Operation Litani.

The 1977 Hanafi Muslim Siege: more than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.

World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.

World War II: General Douglas MacArthur abandons Corregidor.

World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.

''Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR'', abbreviated as ''GTO'', is introduced in the Soviet Union.

In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre.

World War I: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley Maude.

The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.

Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain.

The Meiji Japanese government officially annexes the Ryukyu Kingdom into what would become the Okinawa prefecture.

The first performance of ''Don Carlos'' by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Paris.

The Great Sheffield Flood: The largest man-made disaster ever to befall England kills over 250 people in Sheffield.

American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.

The first performance of ''Rigoletto'' by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice.

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.

The Flagstaff War: Unhappy with translational differences regarding the Treaty of Waitangi, chiefs Hone Heke, Kawiti and Māori tribe members chop down the British flagpole for a fourth time and drive settlers out of Kororareka, New Zealand.

The United States War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.

''The Daily Courant'', England's first national daily newspaper is published for the first time.

The Frondeurs and the French sign the Peace of Rueil.

Battle of Mbororé: Guaranís from Jesuit Reductions fight Bandeirantes, and Portuguese explorers after separation of the Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal.

Battle of Castagnaro: English condottiero Sir John Hawkwood leads Padova to victory in a factional clash with Verona.