The military junta leading Guinea, headed by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, sexually assaulted, killed and wounded protesters during a protest rally in a stadium called Stade du 28 Septembre.

SpaceX launches the first ever private spacecraft, the Falcon 1 into orbit.

Al-Aqsa Intifada: Ariel Sharon visits Al Aqsa Mosque known to Jews as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of Comoros in a coup.

The car ferry {{MS|Estonia}} sinks in Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.

The beginning of the Palestinian civil disobedience uprising, "The First Intifada" against the Israeli occupation.

The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken hostage, takes place in London.

The ITT Building in New York City is bombed in protest at ITT's alleged involvement in the September 11 1973 coup d'état in Chile.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 banning the medicinal use of cannabis.

The Paddington tram depot fire destroys 65 trams in Brisbane, Australia.

A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.

Mali and Senegal join the United Nations.

France ratifies a new Constitution of France; the French Fifth Republic is then formed upon the formal adoption of the new constitution on October 4. Guinea rejects the new constitution, voting for independence instead.

Indonesia joins the United Nations.

Soviet Army troops liberate Klooga concentration camp in Klooga, Estonia.

Warsaw surrenders to Nazi Germany during World War II.

Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland after their invasion during World War II.

Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.

The U.K. Parliament passes the Dangerous Drugs Act outlawing cannabis.

The first General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a meter as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of platinum with ten percent iridium, measured at the melting point of ice.

Battle of Alcolea causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France.

The United States takes control of Midway Island.

Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario.

Oscar I of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Sweden.

France becomes the first European country to emancipate its Jewish population.

The newly completed United States Constitution is voted on by the U.S. Congress to be sent to the state legislatures for approval.

American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, during the American Revolutionary War.

American Revolution: Samuel Huntington is elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding John Jay.

Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya.

Navigator João Rodrigues Cabrilho of Portugal arrives at what is now San Diego, California, United States.

Christian I is crowned king of Denmark.

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor defeats Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Mühldorf.

Muslim Valencia surrenders to the besieging King James I of Aragon the Conqueror.

The Battle of Tinchebrai

William the Bastard (as he was known at the time) invades England beginning the Norman Conquest.

Members of Slavník's dynasty

Saint Wenceslas is murdered by his brother, Boleslaus I of Bohemia.

Roman usurper Procopius bribes two legions passing by Constantinople, and proclaims himself Roman emperor.

Battle of Mursa Major: the Roman Emperor Constantius II defeats the usurper Magnentius.