The Sri Lankan cricket team is attacked by gunmen while on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore for a Test match against Pakistan.

The building of the Historisches Archiv der Stadt Köln (Historical Archives) in Cologne, Germany, collapses.

Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.

Mayerthorpe Incident: James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust at his property in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. It is the deadliest peace-time incident for the RCMP since 1885 and the North-West Rebellion.

Belgian brewer Interbrew and Brazilian rival AmBev agree to merge in a $11.2 billion deal that forms InBev, the world's largest brewer.

Citizens of Switzerland narrowly vote in favor of their country becoming a member of the United Nations.

The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Sky Tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, opens after two-and-a-half years of construction.

The nation of Bosnia is established.

United Airlines Flight 585 crashes on approach into Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing 25.

In two concurring referendums: 74% of the population of Latvia votes for independence from the Soviet Union, in Estonia

An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.

Arthur Scargill declares that the National Union of Mineworkers national executive voted to end the longest-running industrial dispute in Great Britain without any peace deal over pit closures.

The {{USS|Nautilus|SSN-571|6}} is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.

5 workers are killed by the police in a demonstration in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.

Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.

Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.

Beginning of Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and India's official entry to the Bangladesh Liberation War in support of Mukti Bahini.

Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.

Hassan II becomes King of Morocco.

Nuri as-Said becomes the prime minister of Iraq for the 14th time.

A Canadian Pacific Airlines De Havilland Comet crashes in Karachi, Pakistan killing 11.

World War II: American and Filipino troops take Manila in the Philippines.

The Order of Nakhimov and Order of Ushakov are instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards.

World War II: In London, England, 173 people are killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station.

World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid the town of Broome, Western Australia killing more than 100 people.

Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper ''Norrskensflamman'' in Luleå, Sweden.

In Mumbai, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest at the autocratic rule in India.

Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.

The United States officially adopts ''The Star-Spangled Banner'' as its national anthem.

The Free State of Fiume is annexed by Kingdom of Italy.

The 1400-year-old Islamic caliphate is abolished when Caliph Abdul Mejid II of the Ottoman Empire is deposed. The last remnant of the old regime gives way to the reformed Turkey of Kemal Atatürk.

''TIME'' magazine is published for the first time.

Germany, Austria and Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ending Russia's involvement in World War I, and leading to the independence of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

NACA, the predecessor of NASA, is founded.

Rockefeller Foundation: J.D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he can devote all his time to philanthropy.

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an elected assembly, the Duma.

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first person to make a sound recording of a political document, using Thomas Edison's phonograph cylinder.

The penalty kick rule in Association Football is conceived, but does not come into effect until the following season.

The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York.

The United States Geological Survey is created.

Bulgaria regains its independence from Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano; shortly after Congress of Berlin stripped its status to an autonomous state of the Ottoman Empire.

Rutherford B. Hayes is privately inaugurated as the 19th President of the United States (his public inauguration coming on March 5).

The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Canada as recorded in ''The Montreal Gazette''.

Georges Bizet's opera ''Carmen'' receives its première at the Opéra Comique in Paris.

Censorship in the United States: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail.

Opening of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the founding member of the HSBC Group.

The U.S. Congress authorizes the formation of the Freedmen's Bureau.

Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs.

Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.

The U.S. Congress passes the Gold Coinage Act allowing the minting of gold coins.

The United States Department of the Interior is established.

Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state.

For the first time the U.S. Congress passes legislation overriding a presidential veto.

The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise.

Colégio Militar is founded in Portugal by Colonel Teixeira Rebello.

The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.

The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza.

Indian Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Bengali army at the Battle of Tukaroi.

The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporates the Principality of Wales into England.