Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay head of state in the modern world.

King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d'état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.

251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured in a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.thumb

Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne became the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.

The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.

Gary Bettman becomes the NHL's first commissioner

The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal Disaster case.

The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Senegal and the Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia.

The Ayatollah Khomeini is welcomed back to Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.

Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence is commuted by President Jimmy Carter.

Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees the United States to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Kuala Lumpur is declared a Federal Territory.

A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in Sao Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.

Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

Canada's three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.

The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form the ill-fated Penn Central Transportation.

Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan is videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams. This image helped build opposition to the Vietnam War.

The Hamilton River in Labrador, Canada is renamed the Churchill River in honour of Winston Churchill.

Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Egypt and Syria merge to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961.

The United States Army launches Explorer 1.

Felix Wankel's first working prototype DKM 54 of the Wankel engine runs at the NSU research and development department ''Versuchsabteilung TX'' in Germany

Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.

World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.

The United Kingdom recognizes the USSR.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police begins operations.

Russia adopts the Gregorian Calendar.

King Carlos I of Portugal and his son, Prince Luis Filipe are killed in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon.

Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.

The opera ''La bohème'' receives its premiere in Turin.

Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.

The first volume (''A'' to ''Ant'') of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' is published.

President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.

Honduras and El Salvador, during their invasion of Guatemala, are repelled at the Battle of La Arada.

Mayon Volcano, in the Philippines, erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano.

The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.

French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States attempts to convene for the first time.

The ''Kalabalik'' or ''Tumult in Bendery'' results from the Ottoman sultan's order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.

The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.

The Colony of Roanoke Island is established by the landing of Sir Walter Raleigh. This Colony would become known as the "Lost Colony"

The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn, Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).

Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.