1698 – In an effort to move his people away from Asiatic customs, Tsar Peter I of Russia imposes a tax on beards; All men except priests and peasants, are required to pay a tax of one hundred rubles a year and the commoners had to pay one kopek each.
1793 – In France, the French National Convention votes to implement terror measures to enforce the principles of the French Revolution, initiating (starting) the Reign of Terror.
1970 – Vietnam War: Operation Jefferson Glenn begins: the United States 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in Thua Thien Province.
1980 – The St. Gotthard Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highwaytunnel at 10.14 miles (16.32 km) stretching from Goschenen to Airolo.
1983 – The half-hour Robert MacNeil Report changes its name to the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, becoming the first hour-long network news show.
1988 – With US$2 billion in federal aid, the Robert M. Bass Group agrees to buy the United States's largest bankrupt thrift, American Savings and Loan Association.
2005 – A Mandala Airlines plane crashes in a residential area in Sumatra, Indonesia, killing 104 on board and 39 on the ground.
2005 – In Solden, Tyrol, Austria, an aerial lift accident kills nine German tourists, as a transport helicopter hits a cable car, which then plunges to the ground.
2012 – The bodies of Saad al-Hilli, two members of his family, and a local cyclist are found near Annecy, in the alpine region of France, having all been shot, while al-Hilli's two daughters survived. The case remains unsolved, as no killer or motive has been determined.
2014 – Ukraine and Russia agree to a ceasefire during the conflict in Eastern Ukraine.