The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) scheme begins to operate in the UK.

A stampede occurs in the ULTRA Stadium near Manila killing 71.

Facebook, a mainstream online social network is founded by Mark Zuckerberg.

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed to Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution.

German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion in connection with the sabotage of German railway lines.

The ''New Carissa'' runs aground near Coos Bay, Oregon.

Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city.

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000.

After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Milošević recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections.

En route to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73.

Major snowstorm paralyzes Midwestern United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ties all-time record low temperature at -26°F (-32.2°C)

A Coup d'état is led by Hugo Chávez Frías, against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran.

In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.

Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale) occurs in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.

The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.

Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Lunar Orbiter program: Lunar Orbiter 3 lifts off from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 13 on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft.

All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 jet plunges into Tokyo Bay, killing 133.

Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.

World War II: The Yalta Conference between the "Big Three" (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) opens at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea.

The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.

Radium becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.

Japan occupies Harbin, China.

The Philippine-American War begins.

American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from six break-away U.S. states meet and form the Confederate States of America.

The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.

The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.

The Chilean Navy under the command of Lord Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald completes the 2 day long Capture of Valdivia with just 300 men and 2 ships.

The Royal Navy seizes Guadeloupe.

John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.

The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French Republic.

George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.

In Edo (now Tokyo), 46 of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death.

In the Thirteen Years' War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.

The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, initiating the Song Dynasty period of China that would last more than three centuries.

Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta.