1642 ~ Abel Janszoon Tasman reached New Zealand.

1784 ~ Death of Samuel Johnson, Essayist.

1818 ~ Birthday of Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady.

1925 ~ Birthday of Dick Van Dyke, Actor & Comedian.

1939 ~ The Admiral Graf Spee engaged Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles in the Battle of the River Plate.

1945 ~ Execution of Irma Grese, Nazi war criminal.

1981 ~ Martial law imposed in Poland to try to control the Solidarity labor movement.

1996 ~ Kofi Annan elected as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

2003 ~ Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured near Tikrit.

2006 ~ The Chinese River Dolphin was declared extinct.

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Eudaimonia