1788 – First European settlers arrive in Australia.

1837 – Michigan becomes the 26th U.S. state

1880 – Birthday of U.S. military general Douglas MacArthur

1924 – Russian city St. Petersburg renamed Leningrad

1925 – Birthday of actor Paul Newman

1950 – India becomes an independent republic with a new constitution and a president as head of state

1971 – Charles Mansion found guilty in Tate –LaBianca Murders

1986 – Phantom of the Opera adaptation by Andrew Lloyd Webber opens on Broadway

1991 – Mohamed Said Barre removed from power in Somalia, leading to a breakdown of the central government

2004 – Constitution of Afghanistan signed by Afghan president Hamid Karzai