The Israel Defense Forces bombed the home of Salah Shehade, the leader of the military arm of Hamas, killing him, his family and neighboring civilians.
Japan completed its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during imperial Japan's conquest of the country in the Second World War.
Stanley Forman (pictured) took the Pulitzer Prize–winning photo Fire Escape Collapse, which spurred action to improve the safety of fire escapes across the United States.
Soviet space dogs: Dezik and Tsygan were launched into a sub-orbital spaceflight from Kapustin Yar and became the first dogs to fly in space and the first to safely return.
World War II: In opposition to the government-in-exile based in London, the Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation was proclaimed to govern territory recaptured from Germany.