Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak denied all charges against him as he went on trial for alleged corruption and complicity in the deaths of protesters who'd helped drive him from power.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad takes office in Iran. An engineer and teacher by professional, Ahmadinejad became the 6th president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Iran-Contra congressional hearings ended with none of the 29 witnesses tying President Ronald Reagan directly to the diversion of arms-sales profits to Nicaraguan rebels.
Niger gains its independence from France. The West African country became a French colony in the early 20th century. Hamani Diori became the first president of the country.
Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist, publicly accused former State Department official Alger Hiss of having been part of a Communist underground, a charge Hiss denied.
At the outbreak of World War I, British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey remarked: "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.".
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is founded. The American tire company was founded by Harvey Samuel Firestone in Akron, Ohio. In 1988, the company was taken over by Japan's Bridgestone Corporation.