79 AD |

This was believed to be the date of the massive eruption of Mt. Vesuvius until 2018. The eruption buried the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis and Stabiae, killing untold thousands. However, the latest evidence suggests that the eruption occurred after October 17.

1891 | American inventor Thomas Edison patented the motion picture camera.

1932 | The first transcontinental non-stop flight by a woman was completed by legendary aviator Amelia Earhart.

1981 | Mark David Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life for singer-songwriter John Lennon's murder.

1991 | Revolutionary Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as the head of the USSR Communist Party.

1991 | Ukraine declared independence from the USSR.

2006 | The International Astronomical Union (IAU) declassified Pluto as a planet and considered it a Dwarf Planet.

2011 | Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple Inc. amid health issues and was succeeded by Tim Cook.

2021 | The UN revealed that Madagascar was on the brink of the world's first ‘climate change famine’ with people suffering, after four years without rain.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)