1561 – 18-year-old Mary Queen of Scots returned to Scotland, after spending 13 years in France.
1692 – 5 people, 1 woman and 4 men, including a clergyman, were executed after being convicted of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.
1745 – Prince Charles Edward Stuart landed Glenfinnan, raised his standard and marched on London – the start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion known as "the 45".
1919 – Afghanistan gained full independence from the United Kingdom.
1934 – The creation of the position of Führer was approved by the German electorate with 89.9% of the popular vote.
1977 – Groucho Marx died.
1989 – Several hundred East Germans crossed the frontier between Hungary and Austria during the Pan-European Picnic, part of the events which began the process of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
1999 – Tens of thousands of Serbians rallied in Belgrade, to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević.