Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius

VitigesGermanic kingshipOstrogothsSiege of Rome (537-38)Ravenna

Several hundred Spanish and indigenous troops under the command of Pedro de Valdivia defeat an army of 60,000 Mapuche at the Battle of Penco during the Arauco War in present-day Chile

Spanish EmpirePedro de ValdiviaMapucheBattle of PencoArauco War

Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Society of Jesus, are canonized by the Roman Catholic Church

Ignatius of LoyolaFrancis XavierSociety of JesusRoman Catholic Church

The Williamite War in Ireland begins.

Williamite War in Ireland

Peninsular War: A day after a successful rearguard action, French Marshal Michel Ney once again successfully delayed the pursuing Anglo-Portuguese force at the Battle of Redinha

Peninsular WarRearguardMarshal of FranceMichel NeyPortugal

American Civil War: The Red River Campaign begins as a US Navy fleet of 13 Ironclads and 7 Gunboats and other support ships enter the Red River

American Civil WarRed River CampaignUS NavyIronclad warshipGunboat

Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world's first black international football player and captain.

Andrew Watson (footballer, born 1856)Scotland national football teamBlack peopleAssociation footballCaptain (association football)

Tonkin Campaign: France captures the citadel of Bắc Ninh.

Tonkin CampaignFrench Third RepublicBắc Ninh CampaignBắc Ninh

Coca-Cola is bottled and sold for the first time in Vicksburg, Mississippi, by local soda fountain operator Joseph A. Biedenharn.

Coca-ColaVicksburg, MississippiJoseph A. Biedenharn

The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States.

Girl GuidesGirl Scouts of the USA

Canberra Day: The future capital of Australia is officially named Canberra. (Melbourne remains temporary capital until 1927 while the new capital is still under construction.)

Canberra DayAustraliaCanberraMelbourne1927

Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for 215 years.

MoscowRussiaSaint Petersburg

The Kapp Putsch begins when the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt is ordered to march on Berlin.

Kapp PutschMarinebrigade Ehrhardt

İstiklâl Marşı is adopted in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

İstiklâl MarşıGrand National Assembly of Turkey

Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan form the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic

ArmeniaGeorgia (country)AzerbaijanTranscaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic

In California, the St. Francis Dam fails; the resulting floods kills 431 people.

CaliforniaSt. Francis Dam

Mahatma Gandhi begins the Salt March, a 200-mile march to the sea to protest the British monopoly on salt in India

Mahatma GandhiSalt MarchBritish EmpireIndia

Great Depression: Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation for the first time as President of the United States. This is also the first of his "fireside chats".

Great DepressionFranklin D. RooseveltPresident of the United StatesFireside chats

Konstantin Päts and General Johan Laidoner stage a coup in Estonia, and ban all political parties.

Konstantin PätsJohan LaidonerEstonia

Anschluss: German troops occupy and absorb Austria.

AnschlussNazi GermanyAustria

Winter War: Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia. Finnish troops and the remaining population are immediately evacuated.

Winter WarFinlandMoscow Peace TreatySoviet UnionFinnish Karelia

Pacific War: The Battle of Java ends with an ABDACOM surrender to the Japanese Empire in Bandung, West Java, Dutch East Indies.

Pacific WarBattle of Java (1942)American-British-Dutch-Australian CommandJapanese EmpireBandung

The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.

Truman DoctrineCommunism

The Llandow air disaster occurs near Sigingstone, Wales, in which 80 people die when their aircraft crashed, making it the world's deadliest air disaster at the time.

Llandow air disasterSigingstoneWales

First winter ascent of the North Face of the Eiger.

North Face of the Eiger

Suharto take power from Sukarno when the MPRS inaugurated him as Acting President of Indonesia.

SuhartoSukarnoPeople's Consultative AssemblyList of Presidents of IndonesiaIndonesia

Mauritius achieves independence from the United Kingdom.

MauritiusUnited Kingdom

The March 12 Memorandum is sent to the Suleyman Demirel government of Turkey and the government resigns.

1971 Turkish military memorandumSüleyman DemirelTurkey

Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

MauritiusRepublicCommonwealth of Nations

Several bombs explode in Mumbai, India, killing about 300 and injuring hundreds more.

1993 Bombay bombingsMumbai, India