1719 - Daniel Defoe's famous book, Robinson Crusoe, was published.
1953 - James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin and colleagues published papers in the journal Nature on the structure of DNA.
1967 - The first law legalizing abortion in the United States was signed into law by Colorado Gov. John Arthur Love.
2005 - A Japanese commuter train crashed near Osaka, killing more than 70 people and injuring more than 300 others.